Investments filed with the Board of Investments reached $2.5 billion in the first two months, up 156 percent from $976.48 million registered in the same period last year.
Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez announced the figures during the first Manila Forum of the Association of Philippines-China Understanding.
Lopez said the Philippine manufacturing sector output, as measured by the Purchasing Manager’s Index, improved to 52.5 in February, the highest in 25 months.
“We’re already seeing signs of economic recovery as we push for the gradual and calibrated reopening of our economy. Despite our GDP falling to -9.5 percent in 2020, we saw diminishing declines in the latter quarters of last year—from a record-low -16.5 percent in the second quarter to -11.5 percent in the third quarter and -8.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Growth is seen quarter-on-quarter as our GDP grew by 8 percent from 2nd to 3rd quarter, and 5.6 percent from 3rd to 4th quarter,” Lopez said.