The value of investments generated in the region totaled to Php 759.72 million, a drop by 25 percent from the preceding quarter’s Php1,009.89 million and 50 percent from the P1,529.66 million investments generated during the same period last year. Agriculture, fishery and forestry sector grew by 460 percent from the preceding quarter and 147 from the same period last year but the growth was not enough to pull up the over-all investment performance of the region because it contributed only about 9 percent of the total investment.

Industry share was 17 percent of the total. Compared to the preceding quarter, investment in the industry sector declined by 24 percent. Among its sub-sectors, only electricity, gas and water remained strong with 106 percent increase. This increase could still be brought about by the continuous rehabilitation of power and water facilities that were destroyed by super typhoons in 2006. From last year’s level, EGW was up by 13 percent but it was construction that was stronger with 195 percent increase.

Investments in the services sector was the highest among the sectors with 74 percent share. But in both periods being compared to, it recorded negative growth by 33 percent from the preceding quarter and 32 percent from the same period last year. Among its sub-sectors, investments in transportation, storage and communication manifested an increase when compared to in both periods.

Among the provinces, Camarines Sur generated the highest investments with 30 percent share to the regional total but it registered a decline in both periods. Catanduanes, although having a share of only 1.50 percent, recorded a remarkable increase in investment by 189 percent compared to the same period last year. Masbate was strong with 18 percent increase over the preceding quarter and with 2 percent increase from the same period last year.

Mining

• Lafayette Mining Ltd. announced that the Rapu Rapu Group filed a petition for rehabilitation in December 2007, not bankruptcy. Albay Governor Joey Sarte Salceda has urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Bicol to suspend the mining operation of Lafayette Mining Corp. in Rapu-Rapu following the firm’s move to go under voluntary administration.
   

• Australian firm CGA Mining Ltd., which has spent $36 million on construction of its gold project in the province of Masbate, will spend $58 million more in 2008. CGA expects to produce $74 million worth of gold annually throughout the eight-year potential mine life after the Masbate project comes on stream by end-2008. The project will employ at least a thousand people during the construction stage and is expected to generate jobs for 600 people during the mining operation.
   

• The NPA attacked on October 3, 2007, the El Dore Mining Corporation, an Australian firm in Barangay Dumagmang in Labo, Camarines Norte. The attackers burned bulldozers, transport vehicles and generator sets and carted away various equipment whose total amount was yet undetermined. Nobody was reported hurt. The incident came in the middle of a problematic situation where hundreds of small scale miners might be displaced when the El Dore Mining Corp. goes into full blast operation.