Total foreign investments (FI) approved in the fourth 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 21.6 billion. This was 82.8 percent lower compared with the PhP 125.7 billion approved in the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, total approved FI for 2017 reached PhP 105.6 billion, lower by 51.8 percent from PhP 219.0 billion in the previous year.

The top three prospective investing countries for the last quarter of 2017 were Japan, USA and Singapore. Japan committed PhP 5.2 billion or 24.0 percent share of the total approved investments during the quarter. USA and Singapore pledged PhP 3.2 billion and PhP 1.8 billion, or 14.9 percent and 8.3 percent of the total approved FI, respectively.

Manufacturing would receive the largest amount of PhP 8.3 billion, representing 38.4 percent of the total foreign investments approved in the last quarter of 2017. Real Estate Activities came in second with investment pledges valued at PhP 5.1 billion for 23.5 percent share. Administrative and Support Service Activities followed with investment pledges of PhP 3.5 billion for a share of 16.0 percent .

By region, majority of the approved foreign investments in the fourth quarter of 2017 would be intended to finance projects in CALABARZON amounting to PhP 6.4 billion or 29.5 percent . National Capital Region would receive the second highest amount with PhP 5.5 billion, representing 25.4 percent, followed by Central Luzon with PhP 4.9 billion or 22.6 percent .

Approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached PhP 282.4 billion in the last quarter of 2017, up by 2.8 percent compared with PhP 274.8 billion in the previous year. Filipino nationals continued to dominate the investments approved during the quarter, sharing 92.4 percent or PhP 260.9 billion worth of pledges.

Total projects of foreign and Filipino investors approved by the seven IPAs for the fourth quarter of 2017 are expected to generate 29,813 jobs. Out of the total anticipated jobs for the period, 64.1 percent would come from projects with foreign interest.