The total foreign investments (FI) approved in the first quarter of 2022 posted a 54.1 percent decline from its year ago level, according to a report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA said in a statement yesterday the total FI reached P8.98 billion, less than half the P19.55 billion recorded in the same period in 2021.
The FI commitments for the first quarter of 2022 were mainly driven by investments from Japan which accounted for 39.7 percent of the total approved FI, followed by South Korea (18.5 percent) and Singapore (18.2 percent).
Japan committed P3.56 billion, while South Korea and Singapore pledged P1.66 billion and P1.63 billion, respectively.
Manufacturing bested all other industries as it stands to receive P5.15 billion or 57.4 percent of the total FI pledges.
Electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply came in second with investment commitments valued at P1.66 billion or 18.5 percent share, followed by administrative and support service activities with P977.37 million or 10.9 percent FI contribution.
Majority of the approved FI in the first quarter of 2022 is intended to finance projects in Calabarzon amounting to P4.87 billion or 54.2 percent of the total.
This was followed by Cagayan Valley with P1.66 billion (18.5 percent) and Central Visayas with P986.59 million (11 percent).
These investments were pledges from six investment promotion agencies, namely, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corp., Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
No investment approvals were reported from BOI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for first quarter of years 2021 and 2022.
Meanwhile, approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P90.57 billion in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 15.6 percent compared with P164.89 billion in the same period of the previous year.
Filipino nationals continued to dominate the approved investments during the quarter, posting P181.59 billion worth of investment pledges or 95.3 percent share.
The total approved projects of foreign and Filipino investors in the first quarter of 2022 were projected to generate 14,416 jobs.
Out of the total anticipated jobs for the period, approved projects with foreign interest were projected to generate 9,655 jobs.
