Foreign investment pledges dip 22.4% in Q3
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OREIGN investment pledges contracted 22.4 percent in the third quarter of 2022, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Based on the data on Approved Foreign Investments, foreign businesses pledged P13.05 billion in investments in the third quarter, lower than the P16.82 billion reported in the same quarter of 2021. However, investment pledges made by both Filipino and Foreign investors reached P159.18 billion in the third quarter of 2022, or an increase of 58.4 percent compared with P100.48 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. “These investments were pledges from four Investment
Promotion Agencies (IPAs), namely: Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA),” the PSA said. “No foreign investment approvals were reported from Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), BOI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BOI-BARMM), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC), and Tourism Infrastructure Economic Zone Authority (TIEZA) for the third quarter of years 2021 and 2022,” PSA added. The FI commitments for the third quarter of 2022 were mainly
driven by investments from Japan, which accounted for 34.5 percent of the total approved FI, followed by South Korea (15.5 percent) and Singapore (12.6 percent). Japan committed P4.5 billion while South Korea and Singapore pledged P2.02 billion and P1.64 billion, respectively. Manufacturing bested all other industries as it stands to receive P7.2 billion or 55.2 percent of the total FI pledges. Administrative and Support Service Activities came in second with investment commitments valued at P3.38 billion or 25.9 percent share, followed by Real Estate Activities with P1.35 billion or 10.3 percent FI contribution. The biggest chunk of the ap-
proved foreign investment in the third quarter of 2022 was intended to finance projects in Calabarzon amounting to P6.6 billion or 50.6 percent of the total FI. This was followed by Central Luzon with P3.02 billion or 23.1 percent and the National Capital Region with P2.24 billion or 17.1 percent. Meanwhile, total approved projects of foreign and Filipino investors in the third quarter of 2022 were projected to generate 28,139 jobs. Out of the total anticipated employment for the period, approved projects with foreign interest were projected to generate 17,994 employment based on the reports of IPAs. Cai U. Ordinario
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Thursday, November 17, 2022 Vol. 18 No. 36
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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HE Philippines’s economic growth will continue to be robust despite expectations that inflation could linger this year and most of next year, according to Japan-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).
In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, MUFG Global Market Research Senior Currency Analyst Jeff Ng said the country’s GDP growth is seen to average 6.7 percent this year before slowing to 6 percent next year. Inflation, Ng said, is expected to average 5.5 percent this year before slowing to 3.9 percent next year. However, he said, Filipinos may start seeing a tapering off of inflation in the coming months as prices of commodities stabilize. “Maybe the prices have already increased but the number will stay with us for the rest of the year and also for the majority of next year. But I think in terms of the month on month, [it’s] is starting to look more stable,” Ng said. “So I think that’s one positive. We might be reaching the worst number in the coming few months before the headline inflation then starts to moderate,” he added. However, given the high inflation environment, Ng said the BSP is expected to make another 50-basispoint (bps) increase this year. This will be on top of the 75 bps it is expected to implement on Thursday. “Perhaps there could be another 50-basis-point rate hike for December
OUTLOOK GOOD A boatman waits for tourists on his paraw, a traditional outrigger boat propelled by sails (layag), on the white-sand beach of Boracay. The Tourism Promotions Board, the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism, sees the Meetings,
Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector bouncing back in 2023. SMX Convention Center has just opened a convention facility in the Clark special economic zone, while the Megaworld Group has just opened a convention space in Boracay. NONIE REYES
SEIPI SEES SECTOR HURDLING CHALLENGES By Andrea E. San Juan
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ESPITE the “roadblocks,” the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) said it is optimistic that it can overcome the challenges through close collaboration between the public and private sector. In a statement on Wednesday, SEIPI said it “continues to advocate for the industry’s well-being by voicing out legislative and regulatory concerns and providing relevant recommendations that will improve the business environment in the Philippines.” The organization of electronics
companies in the Philippines said it looks forward to the “new heights” that it can reach in 2023. In fact, SEIPI said it met with Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual to discuss the prevailing issues in the industry and its impact on foreign investments, and what can be done to prevent further “capital flight.” Moreover, SEIPI gave updates on what it has been pushing and working for. It noted that it is working on the implementation of the Commission on Election’s Ban on Firearms and Controlled Chemicals in light of the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). SEIPI also noted that it is ad-
vocating that non-manufacturing jobs in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs) be allowed to adopt a work-from-home arrangement without the threat of losing their incentives. As for the industry’s milestones, SEIPI said in a statement on Wednesday, “As of September 2022, the cumulative exports reached $35.34 billion, a 4.71 percent increase from last year’s figures.” This, SEIPI noted, was 60.60 percent of the $58.31-billion total Philippine commodity exports, thus retaining the industry’s position as the country’s See “SEIPI,” A2
See “GROWTH,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.3490
n JAPAN 0.4117 n UK 68.0274 n HK 7.3344 n CHINA 8.1410 n SINGAPORE 41.8514 n AUSTRALIA 38.7450 n EU 59.3562 n KOREA 0.0436 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2625
Source: BSP (November 16, 2022)