Investment pledges up 82.9% in Q3 — NSCB

INVESTMENT PLEDGES approved by four promotion agencies went up by 82.9% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said Friday.

The Board of Investments (BoI), Clark Development Corp. (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) have registered total pledges worth P19 billion from P10.4 billion in the third quarter of 2009.

BoI had the lion’s share at P35.9 billion (64.4%), followed by PEZA at P19.3 billion (34.6%), while CDC and SBMA, which experienced double-digit declines, had a combined share of 1% or P500 million, according to the NSCB data.

Total commitments in the nine months to September reached P79.4 billion, NSCB said, as against P34.3 billion in the same period last year.

The agency said Japan posted the largest share of total investment pledges with P6.3 billion (33.2%), followed by the Netherlands at P5.6 billion (29.4%) and Switzerland at P4.4 billion (22.9%).

For the nine-month period, pledges from Korea topped the list at P24.5 billion (30.9%), with substantial contributions from Japan at P17.1 billion and the Netherlands with P7 billion

In terms of industry recipients, majority of the investment pledges were in manufacturing, and electricity, gas and water at P12 billion (63.4%) and P4.6 billion (24.2%), respectively. The two industries also topped the year-to-date tally.

Meanwhile, total investment commitments from Filipinos and foreigners soared to P55.8 billion, 81.76% higher than the P30.7 billion recorded in the same period last year, NSCB said.

Pledges from Filipino nationals, which constituted 65.95% of the total, jumped to P36.8 billion in the third quarter, an 81.3% leap from the P20.3 billion recorded year-on-year.

Foreign pledges, which accounted for 34.05% of total commitments, also surged to P19 billion, an 82.9% increase from P10.4 billion a year ago.

For the nine-month data, combined pledges amounted to P320.2 billion, almost thrice the P117.5 billion last year. Filipino investments made up 75.2% of total commitments.

Foreign investment pledges represent the share of foreigners in different projects made up of equity, loans and reinvested earnings.

Projects from foreign and Filipino investors approved in the third quarter are expected to generate 26,857 new jobs, 36.8% higher than the 19,638 potential jobs in 2009.

Of the total potential jobs expected from total registered investments of foreign and Filipino nationals during the third quarter, 48.4% would come from manufacturing. Finance and real estate, and private services would account for 33.1% or 8,882 jobs and 11.2% or 2,996 jobs, respectively.

Agriculture, construction, electricity, gas and water, mining and quarrying, trade, and transportation, storage and communication accounted for a total of 1,986 jobs or a combined share of 7.4% of the total projected employment in the third quarter of 2010.

Out of the 96,473 jobs expected to be generated in the first three quarters, manufacturing, finance and real estate, and private services are seen to make up 43.3%, 27% and 24.6%, respectively.

The rest of potential jobs, a total of 4,909, will come from agriculture, construction, electricity, gas and water, mining and quarrying, trade, and transportation, storage and communication.

Sought for comment, Deputy Director-General Augusto B. Santos of the National Economic and Development Authority told BusinessWorld in a phone interview Friday that the steep surge in investment commitments were caused by three factors.

“The world is recovering from a recession,” he said, adding that there is now a desire to invest among foreigners.

Mr. Santos added that peaceful and credible presidential elections last May showed political stability in the country, and that the macroeconomic fundamentals of the country are sound.

He sees a continuing improvement of figures until the end of the year given the country’s growth performance. — JJAC, Businessworld