The Department of Finance (DOF) said the year-on-year recovery of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the first half of the year suggests that the country’s long-term prospects remain positive.
“A prudent and calibrated response to the risks posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and continuing the vaccination drive will be important in safely reopening the economy,” the DOF said in its economic bulletin released yesterday.
“Moving forward, programs to make doing business easier and infrastructure investments will be key in attracting more investment into the country,” it added.
The DOF said recently passed reforms such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, along with reforms still in the legislature, such as amendments to the Foreign Investment Act, the Commonwealth-era Public Service Act and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, will be instrumental in mobilizing more foreign capital into the country and introduce more dynamism in the economy.
FDI in June posted a 60.5 percent growth year-on-year, from $519 million last year to $833 million in 2021.
For the first semester of the year, it was at $4.3 billion, 40.7 percent higher than the $3.05 billion recorded in the same period last year, and 5.9 percent higher than the $4.06 billion in the first six months of 2019.
The DOF said year-on-year increases in reinvestment of earnings and net debt instruments of 7.7 percent and 86.5 percent, respectively, mitigated the 8.9 percent decline in net equity capital investments for the period.
It added that net equity capital investments for the period were primarily in the manufacturing, electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning, financial and insurance and real estate industries. – Angela Celis
