Total Approved Foreign Investments Up 86.6% in 3Q 2013

Makati—(PHStocks)—National Statistical Coordination Board—Total foreign investments (FI) approved in the third quarter of 2013 by the seven  investment promotion agencies (IPAs), namely: Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) as well as the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), BOI-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BOI-ARMM), and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) amounted to PhP33.1 billion, 86.6% higher than the PhP17.7 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, total approved FI for the first nine months of 2013 reached PhP126.5 billion, increasing by 114.8% from the amount recorded last year at PhP58.9 billion.

The top three prospective investing countries for the third quarter of 2013 include the British Virgin Islands, Japan, and the Netherlands.  British Virgin Islands topped the list, pledging PhP10.3 billion or 31.1% share during the quarter.  This was followed by Japan and the Netherlands, committing PhP5.9 billion and PhP4.4 billion, or 18% and 13.2% of the total approved FI, respectively, during the quarter.

Manufacturing industry contributed the largest amount of committed foreign investments in the third quarter of 2013. The investment pledges for the industry was registered at PhP11.2 billion or 33.9% of total FI during the quarter. Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply came in second with investment pledges valued at PhP9.5 billion, contributing 28.8%, followed by accommodation and food service activities, which accounted for 13.7% or PhP4.5 billion.

Approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached PhP189.4 billion in the third quarter of 2013, increasing by 26% from last year’s PhP150.3 billion. Filipino nationals continued to dominate investments approved during the quarter, sharing 82.5% or PhP156.3 billion worth of pledges.  Bulk of the investments are intended to finance activities in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, contributing PhP123.2 billion and with a share of 65.1%, followed by real estate activities at PhP25.7 billion or 13.6% share, and accommodation and food service activities at PhP13.6 billion or 7.2% share.

Total projects of foreign and Filipino investors approved by the seven IPAs for the third quarter of 2013 are expected to generate 39,314 jobs, an increase of 18.1% from last year’s projected employment of 33,295 jobs in the same period.  Out of these anticipated jobs, 84.8% would come from projects with foreign interest.

Source of Graph: National Statistical Coordination Board