The Board of Investments (BOI) approved P1.56 trillion in investment pledges in 2025, surpassing the P1.5-trillion mark for the second consecutive year and posting the second-highest approvals in its 58-year history.
Still, this represents a 3.7 percent decline from the record P1.62 trillion in 2024 and falls short of the P1.75-trillion target.
The approved projects are expected to generate 40,175 jobs nationwide across 322 initiatives.
Local investments dominated with P1.41 trillion, or 90 percent of the total, while foreign investors contributed P149.45 billion, led by Singapore (P80.37 billion), followed by the Netherlands, Thailand, the U.S., and Switzerland.
Energy remained the main driver, accounting for P970.09 billion or 62 percent of total approvals, reflecting strong momentum in power generation and related infrastructure.
Mass housing (P241.65 billion) and transportation and storage (P230.06 billion) also drew significant investments, while manufacturing (P62.16 billion) and information and communication (P26.56 billion) signaled continued industrial and digital expansion.
Regionally, the National Capital Region led with P383.71 billion, followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region (P373.39 billion) and CALABARZON (P257.83 billion), highlighting strategic regional participation.
Trade Secretary and BOI Chairperson Cristina Roque said the performance demonstrates growing investor confidence, particularly among local players. “There are a number of big-ticket projects in the BOI pipeline that we are actively assessing even through the very last days of 2025. Unfortunately, we need more time to complete the evaluation process, especially as these are large-scale and very strategic projects,” she said.
Analysts note that while breaching P1.5 trillion is a positive signal, the shortfall against the target points to uneven investment momentum, underlining the need for faster approvals and more foreign capital to sustain growth.
