Foreign investments up 19% in Q1

APPROVED PROJECTS BY 7 INVESTMENT AGENCIES REACH P26 B

Total foreign investments approved by the country’s seven investment promotion agencies in the first quarter of the year went up 19.2 percent from last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

The state data agency reported late Thursday that investment pledges made in the first three months of the year rose to P26 billion, up from P21.8 billion approved in the same period last year.

These cover investment commitments cleared by the Board of Investments, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, BOI-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.

By country of origin, approved commitments from the Netherlands was the largest at P8.1 billion, comprising 30 percent of total.

Investment pledges from Japan and the US were placed at P4.4 billion (16.8 percent) and P3.7 billion (14.3 percent), respectively.

Manufacturing stands to receive 36.8 percent of the total investment commitments.

This is followed by electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply with pledges valued at P6.6 billion (25.5 percent). Administrative and support service activities stand to receive investments of 5.4 billion (20.8 percent).

The bulk of the approved foreign investments are intended to finance projects in Region IVA (Calabarzon), valued at P7.6 billion, equivalent to 29 percent of total.

This is followed by Region I (Ilocos Region) at P6 billion; and National Capital Region at P5.8 billion.

These ventures approved by the seven investment promotion bodies are expected to generate 59, 324 jobs, a 31.3 percent increase from the previous year’s projected employment.

Foreign investments approved by investment promotion agencies differ from actual investment inflows reported by the central bank.