INVESTMENT approvals and registrations have so far reached P734 billion this year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said P427 billion were foreign investments, 90 percent of which were from the renewable energy sector and from countries in the European Union such as Germany.
A total of P307 billion, meanwhile, were local investments.
The total investments from January to September this year were 102 percent higher than the P362 billion booked in the same period last year, he said.
Rodolfo added that the P734 billion investment approvals — covering 200 projects — were expected to yield nearly 39,000 jobs.
He credited the investments to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s trips abroad as the source of the investments were the same countries visited by the President.
“In the past makikita natin hindi naman tayo naging darling of EU (European Union) countries because of some reasons. Pero ngayon nakikita natin na when the President said we are open for business, tsaka nakikita naman nila ‘yung policy reforms dito sa Pilipinas, pumapasok sila,” he said.
Reforms that made it easier for foreign businessmen to invest in the country also helped, he said.
Meanwhile the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported last week that net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) from January to July settled at $4.7 billion. This was 14.7 percent lower than the $5.5 billion net inflows posted in the same period last year.
The BSP said FDI declined amid concerns over slowing global growth.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual in July said around $88 million (around 4.84 billion) worth of investment pledges made during Marcos’ foreign trips may materialize this year.
President Marcos has so far embarked on 16 travels abroad during his over one year in office.
Marcos is expected to visit Saudi Arabia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) Summit this week. (ABS-CBN News)
