INVESTMENT pledges in the first seven months of the year declined by 26.7 percent, as commitments to both the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) were down by double digits.
Pledges to the BOI and Peza from January to July slowed by 26.7 percent to P313.31 billion, from P427.52 billion during the same period last year. The BOI accumulated 80.5 percent of the total figure. In a report prepared by the Bureau of Trade and Industrial Policy Research, investments applied to the BOI were down by 14.4 percent to P252.32 billion in the first seven months, from the previous year’s P294.85 billion. On the other hand, Peza suffered a 54-percent slump during the same period to P60.99 billion, from P132.66 billion.
Moreover, onshore investments fell by 29.6 percent to P267.91 billion, from P380.78 billion; while offshore pledges went down by 2.9 percent to P45.4 billion, from P46.73 billion. Five of the country’s top sources of commitments posted significant declines during the seven-month stretch.
Investments from the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom contracted by 9.1 percent, 65.6 percent and 51.9 percent, respectively. China’s pledges also declined by 18.6 percent, while those from the Netherlands fell by 84.4 percent. Japan remained to be the country’s largest source of fresh projects at P13.92 billion, up by 46 percent from last year’s P9.54 billion.
Electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply is still the leading investment industry at P118.1 billion, higher by 86 percent from the previous year’s P63.5 billion.
Three top industries registered double-digit investment declines in the first semester.
Commitments to real-estate activities fell by 67.1 percent to P50.12 billion from P152.55 billion. The same fate was suffered by the manufacturing and construction industries, of which investments went down by 19.5 percent and 74.3 percent, respectively.
Transportation and storage, on the other hand, registered a 301.9-percent investment increase to P38.5 billion, from last year’s P9.58 billion.
The BOI is targeting to obtain P680 billion of fresh projects for this year, after hitting an all-time high of P617 billion last year. Meanwhile, the Peza is aiming to grow by 10 percent.