The country’s foreign investment pledges a registered 9.9-percent contraction as of the third quarter of the year, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA data obtained from the country’s seven investment promotion agencies (IPAs) showed total approved foreign investments only amounted to P84.1 billion in the January-to-September period, from P93.3 billion in 2016.
This, despite foreign investment approvals amounting to P43 billion in the third quarter, a 61.1-percent growth from P26.7 billion in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, total approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals grew 52.3 percent to P626.24 billion in the January-to-September period, from P411.17 billion in 2016.
This was largely due to the 217- percent growth in foreign and Filipino investments in Calabarzon or Region 4A, which accounted for 32 percent of the total investments in the country this year.
This was followed by the 171.4- percent growth posted by Cagayan Valley; 145.7 percent, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM);132.9 percent, Caraga; and 118 percent, Central Luzon.
Data showed that regions like the National Capital Region, or Metro Manila, which accounted for 15.9 percent of total foreign and Filipino approved investments saw a 12-percent decline in its investments to only P99.59 billion in January to September, from P113.19 billion in 2016.
The PSA said the approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P274.4 billion in the third quarter of 2017, more than double compared with P133.8 billion in the previous year.
“Filipino nationals continued to dominate the investments approved during the quarter, sharing 84.3 percent, or P231.3 billion worth of pledges,” PSA said.
Meanwhile, the top 3 prospective investing countries for the third quarter of 2017 include Japan, Taiwan and Australia.
Japan committed P 21.4 billion, or 49.7-percent share, of the total investments during the quarter. Taiwan and Australia pledged P8.9 billion and P2.8 billion, or 20.6 percent and 6.4 percent of the total approved foreign investments, respectively.
The seven IPAs are the Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
Also included are the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, BOI-ARMM and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.