Board of Investments (BOI): Philippines Investment Agency

The Board of Investments (BOI) is the Philippines’ lead investment-promotion agency, sitting under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). It registers and approves qualified local and foreign investors, then hands them the tax holidays, duty exemptions, and streamlined permits that make Philippine projects commercially competitive.

Created in 1967 through Republic Act 5186, the BOI has spent nearly six decades steering capital into sectors the government wants to grow — manufacturing, agribusiness, infrastructure, and, more recently, the digital economy. Its incentives are anchored to the annual Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP), which lists which industries qualify for perks in a given cycle.

For anyone weighing a Philippine expansion, whether a factory build, a shared-service centre, or a full business process outsourcing (BPO) operation, the BOI is usually the first agency they meet.

Key takeaways

• The BOI is the Philippines’ primary investment-promotion agency, chartered in 1967 and housed under the DTI.
• It grants income-tax holidays, duty exemptions, and other fiscal perks to projects listed in the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan.
• Under the 2021 CREATE Act, BOI-registered projects can receive 4–7 years of income-tax holiday plus 10 years of enhanced deductions or a 5% special corporate income tax.
• Foreign investors use the BOI route to secure protections and to co-invest in priority sectors like renewables, IT-BPM, and advanced manufacturing.

How it works

The Board of Investments (BOI) works through a registration-and-incentive model — an investor submits a project, the BOI checks it against the current SIPP, and if it qualifies the project earns a defined package of tax and non-tax perks. The board itself is chaired by the DTI Secretary and includes governors appointed by the President.

Registration is project-specific, not company-wide. A firm can operate several plants but only the BOI-registered activity receives the incentive. Approvals typically take 10–20 working days once the paperwork is complete, and the agency publishes a monthly investment tally that feeds into national foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics tracked with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Since the CREATE Act (Republic Act 11534) took effect in April 2021, the incentive menu has been standardised across investment agencies. The table below summarises the headline tiers.

Source: CREATE Act IRR, DTI-BOI, 2021.

Projects located outside Metro Manila earn an additional year of ITH, a deliberate lever to spread investment beyond the capital.

Examples

Real-world BOI activity spans traditional heavy industry and newer service-driven sectors. Four illustrative examples show the range.

1. Renewable energy, Solar Philippines (2023). The developer registered a 500 MW solar-plus-storage project in Nueva Ecija under Tier II, unlocking a 5-year ITH plus enhanced deductions.

2. Electronics manufacturing, Ibiden Philippines (2022). The Japanese semiconductor-substrate maker committed roughly PHP 21 billion for a Laguna expansion, entering the BOI pipeline as a Tier III export-oriented project.

3. IT-BPM shared services, Nordic bank captive (2024). A European lender opened a 1,200-seat back-office in Cebu, using BOI registration to layer benefits on top of its PEZA-eligible outsourcing footprint.

4. Agribusiness, Del Monte Philippines (2022). Approved expansions of its pineapple-processing complex in Bukidnon under the SIPP’s agri-industrial category, targeting export markets in Asia and the Middle East.

These approvals feed the country’s FDI story — the Philippines has been repeatedly named among Asia’s most promising Philippines destinations in UNCTAD surveys.

Related terms

Understanding the BOI is easier alongside the agencies and instruments it interacts with.

• Foreign direct investments (FDI): cross-border capital the BOI is chartered to attract.
• Business process outsourcing (BPO): the service sector that most commonly registers with the BOI or PEZA.
• Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO): higher-value analytics and research work eligible under Tier II and III.
• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas: the central bank that records BOI-linked FDI flows.
• Outsourcing: the broader model behind many BOI-registered service projects.
• Digital economy: a fast-growing SIPP category covering fintech, platform, and data-centre plays.

FAQ

What does the Board of Investments (BOI) actually do?

The BOI registers qualified investment projects, grants them fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, and promotes the Philippines as an investment location. It also drafts the annual Strategic Investment Priorities Plan that defines which sectors qualify.

How is the BOI different from PEZA?

PEZA governs registered economic zones — factories or offices inside a designated ecozone. The BOI covers projects anywhere in the country, provided the activity is in the SIPP. Many exporters compare both routes before choosing.

Can foreign investors register with the BOI?

Yes, so long as the project is in a preferred activity or the investor commits to export at least 70% of output. Foreign-equity caps in the Foreign Investment Negative List still apply.

How long do BOI incentives last?

Under the CREATE Act, income-tax holidays run 4–7 years depending on tier and location, followed by up to 10 years of either enhanced deductions or a 5% special corporate income tax.

Is the BOI the same as the DTI?

No. The DTI is the parent department covering trade, industry, and consumer policy. The BOI is an attached agency inside the DTI, focused specifically on investment promotion and incentives.

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