Total foreign investments (FI) approved in the fourth quarter of 2022 amounting to PhP 173.61 billion was higher by 30.1 percent compared with PhP 133.47 billion reported in the same quarter of 2021. These investments were pledges from the six Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), namely: Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), Board of Investments (BOI), BOI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BOI-BARMM), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). No foreign investment approvals were reported from Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC), and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) for the fourth quarter of 2022. (Figure 1 and Table 2A)
The bulk of FI commitments for the fourth quarter of 2022 was from Singapore (64.2%), followed by Japan (21.5%), and United Kingdom (5.9%). Singapore committed PhP 111.47 billion, while Japan and United Kingdom pledged PhP 37.41 billion and PhP 10.22 billion, respectively. (Table 3A)
Information and Communication bested all other industries as it stands to receive PhP 114.29 billion or 65.8 percent of the total FI pledges. Real Estate Activities came in second with investment commitments valued at PhP 35.57 billion or 20.5 percent share, followed by Manufacturing with PhP 19.30 billion or 11.1 percent FI contribution. (Table 4A)
The biggest chunk of the approved foreign investment in the fourth quarter of 2022, amounting to PhP 101.36 billion or 58.4 percent of the total FI, was intended to finance projects classified as “Nationwide” or situated in various regions of the country. This was followed by Ilocos Region with PhP 32.66 billion (18.8%), CALABARZON with PhP 30.71 billion (17.7%), and Central Luzon with PhP 5.70 billion (3.3%). (Table 5A)
Meanwhile, the combined approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached PhP 478.16 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 or an increase of 17.0 percent compared with PhP 408.54 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. Filipino nationals contributed PhP 304.55 billion or 63.7 percent. (Tables 7A and 8A)
Projects of approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals in the fourth quarter of 2022 were projected to generate a total of 37,766 employment. Out of this total anticipated employment for the period, approved projects with foreign interest were projected to generate 23,364 employment. (Tables 6A and 11A)
