Approved investment pledges in the Philippines increased significantly in the first quarter of 2021, as announced by the Board of Investments (BOI) during a briefing in April. Registered investment commitments surged by 66% from the same period in 2020.
Referring to the positive trend, Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo of the BOI cited the easing of restrictions, “restored” jobs in the last quarter of last years, and a steady production manufacturers’ index (PMI) since the start of 2021. “We even reached the second-highest level of approved investments in 2020 (in the Agency’s history) despite the pandemic with over Php1 trillion. For 2021, we hit Php 138 billion as of March,” said Usec. Rodolfo.
To strengthen the country’s investment environment, the BOI launched its “Make It Happen in the Philippines” campaign in November last year to generate investments and increase brand recognition for the country. The government also approved the 2020 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) in the same month last year. The new IPP highlighted activities related to combatting the pandemic and generating employment opportunities outside congested areas, among other activities such as manufacturing, agriculture, and mass housing.
Government services to go fully digital
The pandemic has accelerated digital adoption in the country, as services provided by both the private sector and the public sector were made more accessible. Foodservice companies and retail chains upped their online delivery services, integrating more payment options and signing up with established logistics partners.
Cities such as Caloocan and Valenzuela used tech as they sought to control the spread of COVID-19 in their cities, optimizing the use of mobile apps and QR codes for efficient and touchless contact tracing. The digital transformation experienced last year is not a trend, and is something that the country hopes to keep up past the pandemic. In 2020, bills such as the E-Governance Act of 2020 and the Full Digitalisation Act of 2020 were authored. Both aim to sustain the push towards virtualization by streamlining government agency services and processes that will not only make the government more accessible to its people but also improve ease of doing business and make the country more competitive. The Department of Trade launched its E-Commerce Roadmap in January 2021.
“The government must also set an example by embracing e-government capabilities and making their online services and infrastructure easily available to businesses and consumers. Likewise, the various agencies must operate seamlessly with the public being able to transact with them online,” said Secretary Lopez in reference to taking a whole-of-society approach in improving the country’s e-commerce ecosystem during the E-Commerce Roadmap launch last January.
More entrepreneurs amid pandemic
“Our records will show that more and more people are getting into the online business,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez during a forum held last year. In the first quarter of this year, the Department of Trade and Industry announced record-high growth in numbers of registered business names. According to Secretary Lopez, business name registration grew by 381% from the same period in the previous year.
Property seekers eager to invest in 1Q 2021
Lamudi’s latest trend report, The Outlook on the Residential Real Estate Market: Pandemic Spurs Digital Adoption in Boomers and Gen X in 1Q2021, revealed indicators of a property seeker market more open to pursuing real estate investments.
Younger property seekers, for instance, showed the strongest demand for foreclosed listings, as the 25 to 34-year-old age segment contributed 47.19% of all pageviews for the property type. The trend indicated diligence among younger people in identifying opportunities to maximize their home-buying budget, or generating other streams of income such as the fixing-and-flipping common to investments in foreclosures.
Moreover, supply data from the same report showed an increase in land lots for sale and rent in 1Q2021, pointing to seller intent to free up cash or create income streams through leasing out their property.
Article and Photo originally posted by Lamudi last May 12, 2021.
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