NSCB - National Statistical Coordination Board : Total approved foreign investments down by 36.7 percent in Q3 2012

Total foreign investments (FI) approved in the third quarter of 2012 by the investment promotion agencies (IPAs), namely: Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), 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 17.7 billion, 36.7 percent lower than the PhP 28.0 billion recorded in Q3 2011.  Meanwhile, total approved foreign investments for the first nine months of 2012 reached PhP 86.1 billion, down by 4.7 percent from previous year's PhP 90.3 billion. 

The top three investing countries for the third quarter of 2012 were Cayman Islands, Japan, and Singapore.  Cayman Islands bested other countries as it pledged PhP 4.8 billion or 27.3 percent share during the quarter.  Following behind are Japan and Singapore, committing PhP 4.2 billion and PhP 1.3 billion, or 23.7 percent and 7.4 percent of the total approved FI, respectively, during the quarter.

Manufacturing remains the top industry to receive investments  as its share to total foreign commitments reached        PhP 6.7 billion or 37.6 percent share during the quarter.  Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply came in second with investment pledges valued at PhP 4.9 billion, contributing 27.5 percent, followed by administrative and support service activities at PhP 2.1 billion or 11.9 percent share. 

Approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached PhP 150.3 billion in the third  quarter of 2012, declining by 24.0 percent from previous year's PhP 197.9 billion.  Filipino nationals continued to dominate investments approved during the quarter, sharing 88.2 percent or PhP 132.6 billion worth of pledges.  Bulk of the investments committed by foreign and Filipino nationals in the third quarter of 2012 are intended to finance activities in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, contributing PhP 54.8 billion or 36.5 percent share, followed by real estate activities  at PhP 45.7 billion or 30.4 percent share, and manufacturing at PhP 20.2 billion or 13.5 percent share.  These proposed projects are expected to create 33,295 jobs, declining by 18.5 percent from previous year's projected employment of 40,860 jobs in the same period.  Out of these anticipated jobs, 75.9 percent would come from projects with foreign interest.

Starting with the Third Quarter 2012 Report, foreign investments approved and registered by the IPAs is termed "approved foreign investments," replacing the term "approved foreign direct investments" used in the previous reports.   This is to distinguish  clearly, the approved foreign investments which  are only commitments and pledges from the foreign direct investments (FDI), which are actual investments being released in the Balance of Payments by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

JOSE RAMON G. ALBERT
Secretary General

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