Total investments plunge 32% to P299.5 billion in 2009

Total investments in the country decreased 32.04 percent last year as businesses reeled from the impact of the global financial crisis, the Trade Department said yesterday.

Data from the Department of Trade and Industry’s attached agencies showed that investment commitments for 2009 registered at P299.54 billion, lower than the P443.12 billion recorded in 2008.

The investment figures were sourced mainly from the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

“Given the global economic recession in 2008 that spilled over in 2009, we managed to bring in investments at reasonable levels,” Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said in a statement.

He said investments in the manufacturing sector almost remained at the same level while the IT services sector posted a growth rate of almost 18 percent. Because IT and manufacturing are the main employment generators, Favila said they were able to save jobs and sustain job creation in spite of the crisis.

In fact, the 751 projects that came in last year are expected to generate direct employment to 174,807 persons, slightly less than the 894 projects and 177,428 direct employment in 2008.

The DTI noted that the 2009 investment approvals were significant in terms of projects with more employment, as 233 jobs per project are to be created in 2009 as against 199 jobs per project in 2008.

In 2008, investments were top-heavy in power and other infrastructure, while in 2009, investments in the manufacturing sector and the services sectors, specifically IT services, posted double-digit growth, as both sectors being the traditional employment generators.

For 2009, there were still more local investors than foreign ones. Filipino investors account for 62 percent of total investments, or P185.72 billion, while foreigners committed P113.82 billion or 32 percent of the total approved investments. Foreign investments for 2009, however, was 30 percent less than in 2008.

The top five foreign investors were the Japanese, with P70.65 billion; Americans, with P 12.74 billion; South Koreans, with P 4.55 billion; Hong Kong Chinese, P 3.97 billion; and Singaporeans, with P 3.45 billion.

The 10 biggest investments in 2009 include the nickel high pressure acid leach project of Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp., a joint venture firm of Nickel Asia Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. in Surigao del Norte (P62.72 billion) the three water supply and distribution projects of Maynilad Water Service Inc. (P22.26 billion P15.27 billion and P8.32 billion) two geothermal power projects of AP Renewables Inc. (P13.18 billion and P9.54 billion) establishment of a Japanese facility for the elderly (P19.32 billion) manufacture of WX disc project of a Japanese company (P9.24 billion) tourism economic zone project (P9.13 billion) and the production of reconstituted tobacco project of an American company (P5.60 billion).

“Rather than look at 2009 alone, and instead examine the cumulative investments inflows from 2001 to 2009, we would note that the Philippines posted durable investment flows during the global financial crisis compared to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia,” Favila pointed out.

He said that for this year, given that the worst of the global economic crisis is over, “the government will continue to pursue policy reforms to improve further our competitiveness in the global market.”

“We are committed to put in place additional measures to make business transactions with government easier and more transparent. These we must do if we are to take advantage of the global economic rebound in 2010,” Favila said. –Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star)