With P7.5B, Region 7 receives 4th highest investment pledges

CENTRAL Visayas received the fourth largest combined foreign investment pledges worth P7.5 billion in the first nine months of 2016, a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows.

The top three regions that attracted foreign project pledges are Calabarzon, which gained P26.1 billion or 28 percent of the total share; National Capital Region(NCR) with P18.4 billion (19.7 percent); and Central Luzon with P10.54 billion (11.3 percent).

Total foreign investment pledges from January to September 2016 reached P93.3 billion, a decline of 12.4 percent from P106.6 billion in the previous year.

Central Visayas covered eight percent of the

Foreign investment pledges in the third quarter declined by 45 percent, from P48.6 billion in the same period in 2015 to P26.7 billion this year Top 3 sources of pledges in that quarter, by country, were South Korea, United States, and Singapore

total foreign investments in the first nine months of the year.

During the third quarter, Central Visayas scored poorly, getting 0.2 percent or P53.4 million. NCR remained an attractive site, having topped the list, getting 20.4 percent of the third quarter share or P5.5 billion.

The third quarter foreign investments in the country represented a decline of 45 percent, from P48.6 billion in the same period in 2015 to P26.7 billion.

According to PSA, the top three prospective investing countries for the third quarter of 2016 were South Korea, United States, and Singapore.

South Korea committed P6.5 billion or 24.3 percent share of the total investments during the quarter. The USA and the Singapore pledged P4.6 billion and P4.1 billion, or 17.2 percent and 15.3 percent of the total approved foreign investment pledges, respectively.

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning sup- ply accounted for the largest amount of foreign investments approved in the third quarter of 2016, with P13.2 billion or 49.4 percent share.

Manufacturing came in second with investment pledges valued at P5.1 billion or 18.9 percent share, followed by transportation and storage at P3.5 billion or 13.2 percent share.

Approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P133.8 billion in the third quarter of 2016, down by 20.4 percent compared to last year’s approvals of P168.2 billion.

Filipino nationals continued to dominate the investments approved during the quarter, sharing 80 percent or P107.1 billion worth of pledges.