Foreign investments plunge in 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines continues to fail in attracting foreign investors given its restrictive lockdown measures that discourage companies to pour in much-needed capital to revive the economy.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that approved foreign investments plunged by 71 percent last year to P112.12 billion.

In the fourth quarter, the value of approved investments declined by 68 percent to P36.49 billion.

The investment commitments were filed at the Board of Investments (BOI), BOI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Clark Development Corp. Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.

The National Capital Region received the biggest chunk of foreign investments with  P40.38 billion. Some P35 billion went to Calabarzon while Central Luzon got P14.47 billion.

Of the 17 regions in the country, six did not get any foreign investment.  These are the Cordillera, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao and Caraga.

Of the investment promotion agencies, 53 percent were made with PEZA (P59.72 billion) followed by the BOI (P47.73 billion).

Of the industries, manufacturing secured the highest share at 34 percent with investments worth P37.6 billion. Transportation and storage came in close with P37.5 billion in investments.

There was no investment poured in water supply, sewerage, and waste management, public administration and defense, and human health and social work activities.

According to the PSA, the investment commitments were mainly driven by US projects, which accounted for 31.5 percent of the total, followed by China which comprised 13.9 percent, and UK companies which had an 11.7 percent share.

US corporations committed a total of P35.37 billion in investments while Chinese firms pledged P15.6 billion. Those from the UK, meanwhile, pledged a total of P13.08 billion.

The approved investments created 99,718 jobs, down 23 percent from last year.