By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Reporter
FOREIGN INVESTMENT pledges received by the country’s investment promotion agencies (IPA) more than doubled to P166.03 billion in the third quarter, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
Approved foreign investment commitments jumped by 125.3% to P166.03 billion in the July-to-September period from P74 billion in the same quarter last year.
Quarter on quarter, foreign pledges climbed by 43.57% from the P115.64 billion approved in the April-to-June period.
For the first nine months of the year, foreign investment approvals surged by 97.7% to P336.45 billion from P170.17 billion last year.
In the third quarter alone, Taiwan accounted for the bulk or 46% of total approved foreign investment pledges at P76.27 billion, followed by Singapore (P40.48 billion), South Korea (P29.48 billion), the Netherlands (P3.712 billion) and Japan (P3.7 billion).
In the third quarter, investment commitments were approved by six out of 16 IPAs, namely, the Board of Investments (BoI), Clark Development Corp. (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. Industrial Authority (PIA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
PEZA approved P87.55 billion worth of investments during the period, accounting for 52.73% of the total.
This was followed by BoI with P76.58 billion worth of investment pledges (46.12% share) and PIA at P878.2 million (0.53%).
SBMA also approved foreign investment pledges worth P736.67 million (0.44%), followed by TIEZA with P272.61 million (0.16%), and CDC at P19.42 million (0.01%).
By industry, manufacturing accounted for 51.89% of foreign investment pledges in the third quarter at P86.16 billion, followed by electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning at P52.61 billion.
In the third quarter, Central Luzon accounted for 46.34% or P76.94 billion worth of foreign investment pledges. Calabarzon followed with 19.7% or P33 billion, and Cordillera Administrative Region with 16.98% or P28.2 billion.
The total approved investments from both foreign and Filipino nationals reached P628.19 billion in the third quarter, up 82.7% from the P343.81 billion approved last year.
“Approved investments for the third quarter of 2026 are expected to generate a total of 27,799 employment, reflecting a 0.2% decline from the 27,843 expected employment in the same period of 2025,” the PSA said.
Of the total, 13,805 new jobs will be generated from approved projects with foreign interest.
Diana R. Rueda, an economics professor at the University of Asia & the Pacific, said the jump in foreign pledges show that the Philippines remains an attractive investment destination despite uncertainties.
“Foreign investment approvals may remain relatively resilient, although geopolitical tensions, higher energy costs, and global financing conditions could affect the timing of new commitments,” she said in a Viber message.
However, Jonathan L. Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. in Manila, said there is a need to ensure investors’ long-term interest by reducing business costs.
MORE INVESTMENTS EXPECTED
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said total investments approved by the BoI, PEZA and BCDA reached P1.4 trillion in the first 10 months.
At a briefing on Thursday, Mr. Go said total investment pledges by BoI, PEZA, and the BCDA jumped by 39% from P1.06 trillion last year.
“The Philippines continues to be received very warmly by the global investor market,” he said.
The BoI approved P942.86 billion in investments over the 10-month period, up by 22.3% from P770.71 billion.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the BoI’s end-October investments represent 94% of the agency’s P1-trillion investment target for 2026.
Of the total, the renewable energy (RE) sector accounted for 79% of BoI’s 10-month investments, followed by real estate and housing (6%), transportation and storage (5.3%), hotels and accommodation (2.3%), and information and communications technology or ICT (2%).
“We are very confident that at the end of the year, we will be surpassing the P1-trillion target for the BoI because we still have a pipeline of about P500 billion,” Mr. Rodolfo told the briefing.
The expected investments slated for approval are in sectors like RE, manufacturing, and ICT, he added.
Meanwhile, PEZA’s approved investments jumped by 76.6% to P309.63 billion as of end-October, while BCDA’s investment approvals more than doubled to P145.46 billion.
