A SURGE in investments from The Netherlands allowed the country’s foreign pledges to more than double in the second quarter, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Investment pledges from the European country skyrocketed 2,522.32 percent to P19.04 billion in the second quarter in 2022, from P725.97 million in the same period in 2021.
This accounted for 41.2 percent of the country’s total approved FDI in the April to June period of P46.23 billion. Total foreign investments surged 105.4 percent from P22.5 billion reported in the same quarter of 2021.
“Foreign Direct Investments [FDI] are investments made to acquire a lasting interest by a resident entity in one economy in an enterprise resident in another economy. The purpose of the investor is to have a significant influence, an effective voice in the management of the enterprise,” PSA explained in the technical terms of its report.
Apart from The Netherlands, Singapore and Japan also accounted for 34.4 percent and 14.1 percent of foreign investments, respectively, PSA said. Singapore pledged P15.89 billion while Japan committed P6.51 billion worth of investments.
The report is based on the approvals made by Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs). For the second quarter, these IPAs were the Board of Investments (BOI), BOI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BOI-BARMM), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
“No foreign investment approvals were reported from Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC) and Tourism Infrastructure Economic Zone Authority (TIEZA) for the second quarter of years 2021 and 2022,” the PSA said in a statement.
In terms of sector, Real Estate Activities bested all other industries as it stands to receive P19.3 billion or 41.7 percent of the total FI pledges.
Transportation and Storage came in second with investment commitments valued at P14.52 billion or 31.4 percent share, followed by Manufacturing with P6.15 billion or 13.3 percent FI contribution.
The biggest chunk of the approved foreign investment in the second quarter of 2022 was intended to finance projects in Central Luzon amounting to P33.94 billion or 73.4 percent of the total FI.
This was followed by Central Visayas with P3.94 billion or 8.5 percent and Calabarzon with P3.7 billion or 8 percent of the total.
Meanwhile, approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P99.61 billion in the second quarter of 2022, or an increase of 17.4 percent compared with P84.85 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
PHL investors
Filipino nationals continued to dominate the approved investments during the quarter, posting P53.38 billion worth of investment pledges or 53.6 percent share.
Total approved projects of foreign and Filipino investors in the second quarter of 2022 were projected to generate 19,094 employment.
Out of the total anticipated employment for the period, approved projects with foreign interest were projected to generate 12,626 employment based on the reports of IPAs.