Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said he is optimistic the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) will grow within the Marcos administration given the government’s robust investment promotion overseas.

Speaking at the meeting of Rotary Club Manila on Thursday, Pascual said the outbound investment mission of the DTI and other agencies, including President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself, will build up a pipeline of FDIs for the country.

“In the first half of 2023 alone, commitments from foreign sources surged by an outstanding 7.5 times compared to the preceding year,” Pascual said about foreign investment approvals of the Board of Investments (BOI) from January to August this year.

He said although the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that net FDI in the first half of 2023 dropped by 20 percent to USD3.9 billion, the government maintains an optimistic outlook for this year’s FDI inflow.

“Please note that the FDI inflows, as reported by BSP, pertain to investment decisions that were made years before, and not yet reflecting what this administration is trying to do in terms of promoting investments into our country,” Pascual said.

“We are building a good pipeline, as a proof in the investment approvals of BOI, and the investment leads that the president visits have been able to generate of around USD73 billion over the past year or so,” he added.

He said about 16 projects, mostly in information technology and manufacturing, among these investments were already realized.

He added that the big-ticket renewable energy projects also created “a sort of (FDI) pipeline that will be realized in the next years.” (PNA)