Date:
April 2003
Investments Slow 46.8 Percent in 2002
Initial
investmet figures released by the National
Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) show
that total investments in the country plunged
46.8 percent to P99.1 billion in 2002 from
P186.3 billion in 2001, as both domestic investments
and foreign capital inflow slowed significantly
last year.
The
data were compiled from investments registered
with the government's four investment agencies,
namely: the Philippine Economic Zone Authority
(PEZA), the Board of Investments (BoI), the
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and
the Clark Development Corp. (CDC).
In
particular, foreign direct investments (FDIs)
approved by the four agencies fell 26.3 percent
to P46 billion in 2002 from P62.4 billion
in 2001. Domestic investments contracted by
57.1 percent to P53.1 billion in 2002 from
P123.9 billion in 2001.
The
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) blamed
the overall global economic slowdown for the
poor investment climate last year. Analysts
believe that the situation is unlikely to
change significantly this year, with the reeling
tension in the Middle East and the slowdown
in the economies of East Asia because of the
fast spread of SARS - an airborne pneumonia-like
virus.
Almost
as a consolation, the DTI said that those
investments that did come in last year created
more job opportunities for the Filipinos.
The number of jobs created as a result of
FDIs increased by 33 percent to 110,429 in
2002 from only 83,070 in 2001.
Most
FDIs were poured into the manufacturing, information
and communication technology (ICT), mining
and electronics sectors. Around 57 percent
of the total investments last year went to
the manufacturing sector while 17 percent
went to the ICT sector.
Among
foreign investors, Japanese investors led
the list as they infused P17.1 billion, accounting
for 37 percent of the total. Taiwanese investors
followed, with total capital of P12.2 billion.
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