An increase in foreign direct investments, particularly on renewable energy, allowed it to breach the P700 billion mark, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

From January to September, the Board of Investments (BOI) reported that it approved P734 billion worth of investments, or a rise of 102 percent compared to the P362 billion worth of investments in the same period last year.

The bulk or P427 billion of the registered amount are foreign direct investments (FDI), while the remaining P307 billion are from local sources.

"We are counting that really as having been significantly related to the [overseas] visit of the President," he added.

Of the registered FDIs, 80 percent came from Germany. The other top sources of FDIs include Japan and South Korea.

DTI attributed the spike in FDIs to the government's removal of foreign equity restriction on renewable energy projects before Marcos' participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation-European Union (ASEAN-EU) Summit in Brussels last year.

During the January to September period, 90 percent of the approved FDIs are for renewable energy, while other investments are in telecommunications, mineral processing among others.

"So you can see the direct correlation between when the Department of Energy, as instructed by the President, removed that [foreign equity restriction], you can immediately see the entry of foreign investments," Rodolfo said. DMS