DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 07 December) – Various state investment promotion agencies in Mindanao approved some P15.84 billion in foreign investments in the third quarter of 2018, which represents 34.5% of the total P45.9 billion approved nationwide, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on December 6 showed.
The PSA said the investment figures were based on the pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BOI), Clark Development Corporation, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, BOI-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.
Northern Mindanao cornered P15.452 billion of the P15.84 billion, the highest among 17 regions in the Philippines. The region has five provinces, two chartered cities and seven component cities.
The five-province and two-city Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recorded the second highest foreign investments in the island at P235.1 million, followed by Zamboanga Peninsula (P94.3 million), Davao Region (P57.5 million), and Region 12 (P1.7 million).
The top investing country was the British Virgin Islands at P15.5 billion, which represents 33.8% of the total approved foreign investments. Malaysia has committed P10.7 billion and the Unites States P4.5 billion, for various private-led investments.
At least P16.1 billion or 35% of the total investments would be in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply industry; real estate industry, P11.8 billion; manufacturing, P7.6 billion; administrative and support services activities, P6 billion; wholesale and retail trade, P2.7 billion; information and communication, P1.2 billion; mining and quarrying, P235.1 million;
Construction, P58.3 million; transportation and storage, P51.6 million; financial and insurance activities, P41 million; arts, entertainment and recreation, P22.1 million; human health and social work activities, P10.8 million; professional, scientific, and technical activities, P5.5 million; and accommodation and food services activities, P200,000.
The PSA added the approved combined investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P259.7 billion in the third quarter of 2018, a decline of 5.3% compared to the P274.4 billion in the previous year.
The Filipino investors’ share is P213.9 billion worth of pledges or 82.3 percent of the total combined investments approved.
The investments are expected to generate 41,797 jobs, of which 87.6% would come from the foreign investors. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
