By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Reporter

Foreign investment pledges received by the Philippines' investment promotion agencies (IPAs) more than doubled to P166.03 billion in the third quarter, according to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Approved foreign investment commitments jumped 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 43.57% from the P115.64 billion approved in the April-to-June period. Approved pledges represent commitments cleared by the agencies rather than funds already deployed on the ground, and as preliminary figures they remain subject to revision when the PSA finalizes its tally.

For the first nine months of the year, foreign investment approvals surged 97.7% to P336.45 billion from P170.17 billion in the same period of 2025.

Taiwan Leads Source Markets

Taiwan accounted for the bulk of approved foreign investment pledges in the third quarter, taking 46% of the total at P76.27 billion. Singapore followed with P40.48 billion, South Korea with P29.48 billion, the Netherlands with P3.712 billion, and Japan with P3.7 billion.

PEZA and BoI Approve Bulk of Pledges

Investment commitments in the third quarter were approved by six of the country's 16 investment promotion agencies: the Board of Investments (BoI), Clark Development Corp. (CDC), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. Industrial Authority (PIA), the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and the 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. The BoI followed with P76.58 billion in investment pledges, or a 46.12% share, while PIA approved P878.2 million, equivalent to 0.53%. SBMA approved P736.67 million (0.44%), followed by TIEZA with P272.61 million (0.16%) and CDC with P19.42 million (0.01%).

Manufacturing Dominates 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.

By region, Central Luzon accounted for 46.34% of foreign pledges, or P76.94 billion — home turf for the Clark and Subic free ports, two of the agencies that cleared commitments in the quarter. Calabarzon followed with 19.7%, or P33 billion, and the Cordillera Administrative Region with 16.98%, or P28.2 billion.

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. How quickly the approved projects move from pledge to actual hiring is a metric to track in the agency's subsequent investment rounds.

Analysts See Resilience, Urge Cost Cuts

Diana R. Rueda, an economics professor at the University of Asia & the Pacific, said the jump in foreign pledges shows 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.

Jonathan L. Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. in Manila, meanwhile said there is a need to secure investors' long-term interest by reducing business costs.

P1.4 Trillion Approved in First 10 Months

Separately, Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said total investments approved by the BoI, PEZA, and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) reached P1.4 trillion in the first 10 months of the year.

At a briefing on Thursday, Mr. Go said combined investment pledges by the three agencies jumped 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 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.

The renewable energy (RE) sector accounted for 79% of the BoI's 10-month investments, followed by real estate and housing at 6%, transportation and storage at 5.3%, hotels and accommodation at 2.3%, and information and communications technology (ICT) at 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. Investments slated for approval are in sectors such as renewable energy, manufacturing, and ICT, he added. Whether the remaining pipeline converts into approvals by year-end will determine if the BoI clears its 2026 goal.

PEZA's approved investments jumped 76.6% to P309.63 billion as of end-October, while BCDA's investment approvals more than doubled to P145.46 billion.

Source: BusinessWorld