Total approved foreign direct investments (FDI) approved by the Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) declined significantly by 79.2 percent to PhP 21.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 from a high level of PhP 102.6 billion in the same quarter a year ago. 

Finance & real estate and private services are the top two recipients of FDI commitments, dislodging manufacturing which was tops for three consecutive quarters, as these industries stand to receive 42.2 percent and 42.0 percent, respectively of the total approved FDIs for the last quarter of 2008 or PhP 9.0 billion each worth of investments.

The Netherlands was the top source of approved FDIs in the fourth quarter of 2008 as it contributed 39.5 percent of the total FDI commitments during the quarter valued at PhP 8.5 billion. Trailing far behind are the United States of America (USA) and Korea pledging PhP 3.2 billion and Php 2.1 billion which accounted for 15.1 percent and 10.0 percent, respectively of the total FDIs committed during the last quarter of 2008. 

A total of 20,830 jobs are expected to be generated from the FDI projects approved in the last quarter of 2008, down by 27.2 percent from last year’s projected employment of 28,628 jobs.

In the last quarter of 2008, only PEZA recorded gains at Php 20.1 billion constituting 94.1 percent of total FDI. The rest of the investment commitments were registered thru BOI, SBMA and CDC with a combined amount worth Php 1.2 billion, and posting huge double-digit declines of 99.0 percent, 97.4 percent and 80.0 percent, from their 2007 investment levels, respectively.

ROMULO A. VIROLA
Secretary General

Contact Persons:

Josephine P. Ferre and Luzviminda S. Mitra
Tel. No.: (+6 32) 895-5002; (+6 32) 896-7981
E-mail: jr.penaflor@nscb.gov.ph ; ls.mitra@nscb.gov.ph