The investment leads of $71 billion in 130 projects generated by the government the past year would materialize in five years, according to Secretary Alfredo Pascual of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Pascual told a television interview the Philippines targets to become the second largest recipient of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the region by 2028,
Pascual told reporters 16 of the 130 projects and valued at $1.2 billion have materialized, of which 9 are operational and have started exporting.
Pascual said the remaining 7 are for implementation but have registered with either the Board of Investments or the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
Fifteen projects are now in the Green Lane for permitting processing with eight of them preparing registration. According to Pascual, investments like the floating solar project of a European company could take five years to come into fruition.
In contrast, an information technology-business process management operation would only take weeks or months to set up.
“That’s the range. All of these investment leads are covered by letters of intent; we hope all will materialize. We are following them up through our foreign trade service corps,” Pascual said.
Pascual hopes to top the $6- billion record FDIs recoded by the Philippines as the country dreams to be the second largest FDI recipient after Vietnam and Indonesia.
