MANILA, Philippines —  The net inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) could easily surpass 2016’s record level amid a more conducive business environment under the Duterte administration, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

“I think we can surpass what we had last year which was $7.9 billion with positive investor confidence in President Duterte’s administration and the resolution of the Marawi conflict,” Lopez said.

“There are also many other factors such as the country’s demographic sweet spot and infrastructure buildup are all pointing to a more robust, more conducive business environment,” he added.

Net FDI inflows amounted to $5.1 billion from  January to August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported last month.

The amount was 5.2 percent lower than the $5.38 billion recorded in the same period last year.

For the month of August, however, FDIs soared 70 percent to $1.2 billion, the highest level in 16 months.

The BSP earlier raised its net FDI inflow target to $8 billion instead of $7 billion for this year after it reached a record high of $7.9 billion last year.

“These are indeed exciting times for the Philippines. Amid the global economic volatility, the outlook for the country remains positive as we have maintained our strong macroeconomic position,” Lopez said.

“Clearly, our recent performance demonstrates remarkable economic resilience, thanks to a resurging Philippine manufacturing industry. The Philippines is now on the verge of economic transformation. While services was the main driver of growth in the past decades, manufacturing has been contributing more substantially to the nation’s economic growth since 2013,” he added.

For its part, the value of investments approved by BOI during the 10-month period rose 38.1 percent year-on-year  to P408.7 billion.

Of this, investments from foreign sources amounted to P15.32 billion.