THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BoI) posted strong growth at midyear due to the country’s strong fundamentals as well as business and consumer confidence.

“I don’t want to preempt the (first-half) report but its close to about 28% growth,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a speech on Wednesday during the Franchise Asia Philippines 2018 expo in Pasay City.

Mr. Lopez also cited the impact on investment of the effects of the Build, Build, Build program, which involves at least 705 infrastructure projects.

He declined to elaborate on the data but said the report will be released “soon.”

On the uncertainty created by tax reform proposals to rationalize investor incentives, Mr. Lopez said: “The incentives will be enhanced. From an income tax holiday, there will be other more relevant incentives for startup sectors that will be registered,” Mr. Lopez said.

In the five months to May, the BoI approved P206.61 billion worth of investment, up 18.42% from a year earlier, led by power and energy projects, transportation and storage, manufacturing, real estate, and water supply.

The BoI target for investment approvals is P680 billion for the year, up 10% from the record level achieved in 2017.

The Philippines has seven Investment Promotion Agencies authorized to grant tax and non-tax incentives to investors who establish businesses or expand existing ones.

Aside from the BoI, the other IPAs are the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Clark Development Corp., the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, BoI-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BoI-ARMM) and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority. — Janina C. Lim