Investment commitments surge in first quarter

COMMITMENTS to invest in the Philippines grew by more than two-fold in the first quarter of the year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Investment pledges registered by the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) up to end-March totaled P63.95 billion, or 255 percent higher than P17.98-billion lodged with the two incentives-giving agencies in the same period last year.

Last year, the combined BOI and PEZA first-quarter investment approvals plunged by half from the same three-month period in 2008, as the global financial crisis caused a flight to safety by investors.

Commitments with the BOI in the first quarter of this year surged 717 percent to P35.1 billion from P4.3 billion in the same period last year. Thirty-six projects that would generate a total of 5,882 jobs were approved this year.

BOI said the bulk of foreign investments pledged with the agency came from Japan and the Netherlands. The logistics (transport, storage and communications), manufacturing, real estate and utilities (electricity, gas and water supply) sectors all posted positive growth in pledges this year.

Pledges with PEZA jumped 111 percent to P28.85 billion in the first quarter from P13.67 billion in the same three-month period last year.

Elmer San Pascual, PEZA promotions and public relations manager, said the agency will review its growth targets after the first six months.

The agency had set a 15-percent growth target in ecozone investments this year.

Among the big-ticket investment pledges recently approved by PEZA was Nidec Precision Philippines Corp.’s new P1.32-billion project involving the production of fluid dynamic bearing parts for vertical magnetizing technology.

Nidec’s output would be shipped to China, Japan and Thailand. This additional investment at Laguna Technopark Inc. would create 1,584 jobs and generate export sales averaging $80.164 million a year.

“The remarkable first quarter investment performance is a strong reflection of the high level of investor confidence in the Philippines as an investment destination. We shall vigorously pursue measures and policies that will improve business transaction to sustain investors’ confidence,” Trade Secretary Jesli Lapus said in a statement. –BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA Reporter, Manila Times