FOREIGN investment pledges approved by the country’s investment promotion agencies (IPAs) surged twelve times in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago, the government said.
According to National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), foreign direct investments (FDI) approved by the IPAs from January to March jumped to P45.7 billion from the same period last year.
The government’s IPAs are the Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
The NSCB said Korea topped the list of foreign investors, pledging P23.8 billion or 52.1 percent of the total approved FDI. This was followed by Japan and Singapore, which pledged P10.2 billion and P5.3 billion worth of investments, respectively. Japan accounted 22.3 percent of total pledges while Korea accounted for 11.6 percent.
NSCB said that 93.9 percent of the approved FDIs were intended to fund projects in manufacturing.
The agency said investment pledges in manufacturing were worth P42.9 billion, 32 times the P 1.3 billion committed a year ago. Of the total P23.6 billion or 55.1 percent would come from Korea.
Other pledges were in the finance and real estate sectors, with investment commitments valued at P2.2 billion and accounted for 4.8 percent of total. FDIs in and transportation, storage and communication were valued at P0.3 billion.
NSCB said about 26,074 jobs are expected to be generated from the FDI projects approved in the first quarter of 2010, up by 33.1 percent from last year’s projected employment of 19,596 jobs.
The combined approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P90.7 billion during the quarter, almost five times the P19.4 billion committed in the same period in 2009.
The combined approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals for the first quarter are expected to create 40,612 jobs, higher by 55.6 percent from last year’s 26,106 jobs. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR Senior Reporter, Manila Times
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