Investment pledges in 2023 reached an all-time high of P1.47 trillion, data collated by the Philippine Statistics Authority from various agencies show.
The figure was up by 57 percent from P934 billion registered in 2022 and surpassed the previous record of P1.3 trillion in 2019.
The PSA obtained the data from the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Board of Investments (BOI), BOI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BOI-BARMM), Clark Development Corp. (CDC), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Poro Point Management Corp. (PPMC), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (ZCSEZA).
The BOI accounted for the bulk of the total investment commitments at P1.26 trillion, while the Philippine Economic Zone Authority contributed P175.7 billion. They were followed by AFAB with P10.77 billion; SBMA with P10.72 billion; BOI-BARRM with P3 billion; and CDC with P2.86 billion.
Data show that of the total, foreign investments (FI) accounted for P889 billion in 2023, up by 267 percent from P242 billion in 2022.
The PSA said that in the fourth quarter of 2023, FIs reached P394.45 billion, an increase of 127.2 percent from the P173.61 billion in the same quarter of 2022.
“Of the total approved FI for the fourth quarter of 2023, Netherlands posted the highest investment commitment amounting to P345.76 billion or 87.7 percent. It was followed by Japan at P31.37 billion, and Singapore at P4.99 billion,” the PSA said.
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply industry received the largest amount of approved investments at P335.87 billion or 85.1 percent of the total approved total foreign investments in the fourth quarter.
This was followed by manufacturing with P48.96 billion and administrative and support service activities with P5.70 billion, with a share of 12.4 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Among the regions in the country, Bicol Region received the largest share of pledged investments amounting to P162.92 billion or 41.3 percent of the total approved FIs in the fourth quarter.
This was followed by Eastern Visayas with P108.30 billion and Ilocos Region with P58.52 billion.
The total approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P585.15 billion in the fourth quarter, an increase of 20.8 percent from the reported amount of P484.53 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
Filipino nationals contributed P190.69 billion or 32.6-percent share from October to December 2023.
Approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals in the fourth quarter of 2023 were expected to generate a total of 28,529 jobs.