Total foreign investments (FI) approved in the third quarter of 2017 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 PhP 43.0 billion. This was 61.1 percent higher compared with PhP 26.7 billion last year. Meanwhile, total approved FI for the first nine months of the year reached PhP 84.1 billion, a decline of 9.9 percent from PhP 93.3 billion in the previous year.

The top three prospective investing countries for the third quarter of 2017 include Japan, Taiwan and Australia. Japan committed PhP 21.4 billion or 49.7 percent share of the total investments during the quarter. Taiwan and Australia pledged PhP 8.9 billion and PhP 2.8 billion, or 20.6 percent and 6.4 percent of the total approved FI, respectively.

Manufacturing would receive the largest amount of foreign investments approved in the third quarter of 2017 with PhP 25.1 billion or 58.2 percent share. Real Estate Activities came in second with investment pledges valued at PhP 10.1 billion or 23.5 percent share, followed by Administrative and Support Service Activities at PhP 2.9 billion or 6.7 percent share.

In terms of location, majority of the approved foreign investments in the third quarter of 2017 would be intended to finance projects in Region IV-A CALABARZON amounting to PhP 21.7 billion or 50.4 percent. Ilocos Region would received the second highest amount at PhP 8.4 billion, representing 19.5 percent. This is followed by the NCR – National Capital Region at PhP 4.1 billion or 9.5 percent.

Approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached PhP 274.4 billion in the third quarter of 2017, more than double compared with PhP 133.8 billion in the previous year. Filipino nationals continued to dominate the investments approved during the quarter, sharing 84.3 percent or PhP 231.3 billion worth of pledges.

Total projects of foreign and Filipino investors approved by the seven IPAs for the third quarter of 2017 are expected to generate 37,891 jobs. Out of the total anticipated jobs for the period, 72.7 percent would come from projects with foreign interest.

LISA GRACE S. BERSALES, Ph.D.

Undersecretary

National Statistician and Civil Registrar General