Central Luzon continues to be seen as one of the best investment destination in the country in 2020, based on the report of the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI). In 2020, the BOI registered a total of Php 1.02 Trillion in approved investment in the country. Region 3 had the lion share of these investments by having Php 576 Billion or 56.5% of the total approved investments in the country in the past year. Region IV-A or Calabarzon followed at a distance with Php 184 Billion while the National Capital Region had Php 151 Billion.
Investments in infrastructure still kept the investment environment healthy in 2020 despite the pandemic. For Central Luzon, investment in the Bulacan airport project made a positive mark on the infrastructure investment in the region. In addition to infrastructure, other sectors that contributed to meeting the 2020 recalibrated target include power (electricity) which was able to commit P199.2B worth of projects and the transportation and storage sector mounted a remarkable performance with P161.6B or a 382 increase from just P33.5B in 2019 due to the strong demand of cargoes and deliveries and the rise of online transactions.
For the whole of 2020, a total of 311 investment projects in the country were approved. The BOI noted that when these projects go fully operational, they are expected to generate 55,124 jobs.
Domestic investments accounted for P968.45B or 95.3% of the total approved investments figure while foreign investments reached P47.7B (4.7%). Among foreign investors, the United States led with P11.2B, up 303% from P2.8B in 2019. The Netherlands was second with P2.7B followed by Singapore with P2.2B. France and Japan completed the five biggest investors with P1.6B and P1.2B, respectively.
