Wednesday, November 9, 2011
OVER P6.2 billion worth of investments poured in for Central Visayas in the first half of the year, according to the Board of Investments.
The report said the interest of investors to pour capital into the region remains high, if the booming construction, real estate, information technology and business process outsourcing, and tourism industries are to be observed.
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Records from the Board of Investments (BOI) Cebu Extension office showed 14 firms signifying interest to invest in Central Visayas in projects that would cost over P6.2 billion. These projects are also seen to generate 2,743 jobs.
The breakdown of the projects shows that 10 of these will be in mass housing, two in tourism and one each in mining and manufacturing.
Mass housing
Bulk of the amount comes from a mass housing project by Filinvest Land Inc., which costs P2.1 billion.
However, the amount is small compared with other investment activities across the country, officials said.
The investment performance report of the BOI and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) showed a total of P450.06 billion in investments approved for January to September, 57 percent higher than the P286.51 billion approved investments generated for the same period last year.
If broken down by region, the Calabarzon and Mimaropa regions in Luzon secured the highest investments worth P94.64 billion, which represents 21 percent of the country’s total share.
Central Luzon gained 19 percent of the investments, with P87.49 billion, while the National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for 17 percent, with P77.24 billion.
The Caraga region secured P50.57 billion while the Davao region managed P39.03 billion, more than six times the amount Central Visayas got.
Jobs
The investment performance report stated that the 712 approved projects are expected to create an additional 125,531 jobs when fully operational, an increase of 49 percent from the 84,520 created last year.
The manufacturing sector saw a soaring 222 percent increase, with highest committed investments of P143.32 billion compared to the P44.58 billion for the same period last year.
One of the biggest projects include that of Petron Corp, which is 99.47 percent owned by Filipino holdings and just .053 percent by various foreign owned shares. It has engaged in the modernization and conversion of the Bataan oil refinery project for P74.78 billion.
The all-Filipino owned New Carcar Manufacturing Inc., a producer of steel billet, has committed to P10.57 billion in production facilities in La Union, Panabo City, Davao del Norte and Cebu.
Coke and refined petroleum products made up the bulk of the manufacturing sector at 55 percent or P79.99 billion. Computer, electronic and optical products made up 14 percent at P20.08 billion while basic metals made up nine percent or P13.14 billion.
Fabricated metal products accounted for six percent or P8.10 billion, transport equipment had four percent or P5.07 billion while other manufacturing sub-sectors made up the remaining 12 percent at P16.94 billion.
Real estate
The real estate sector was able to secure approved investments worth P119.06 billion, a 205 percent increase from last year’s P39.08 billion, while the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector generated P100.42 billion, lower than last year’s P167.07 billion. Despite the drop, the report stated that the sector remains bullish as it accounted for a 22 percent share of the total investment approvals for the first nine months.
Mining and quarrying posted the highest increase in investment approvals. From P1.01 billion last year, it secured P62.85 billion for the same period this year, seeing an increase of 6,134 percent.
Administrative support and service activities sector also had positive increases in approvals, from P107.54 million to P8.13 billion this year, jumping 4,664 percent.
Sectors that saw a decline in investment approvals include accommodation and food services; transportation and storage; agriculture, forestry and fishing; information and communication; public administration and defense; compulsory social security; and human health and social work activities.
Investments in information technology services recorded a total of P9.62 billion, up 11 percent from P8.67 billion. Prospective job opportunities saw a 31 percent rise, from 30,347 to 39,603.
Foreign investors contributed 16 percent of total investments, with a total of P70.99 billion.
Top countries
Japan topped the list of foreign investors, with P19.85 billion. The United States came in second with investments amounting to P16.27 billion while the Netherlands committed P9.38 billion. South Korea pledged P6.74 billion, Australia had P1.59 billion and Singapore committed P1.58 billion.
The report said that of the 712 approved investments for the period, majority came from local investors. They poured in P379.06 billion, making up 84 percent of total investment approvals.
Despite paling in comparison with other regions, the BOI said that Central Visayas’ estimated investments of projects in the first half is “three times the investment requirement” of all projects registered in 2010. The report added that the uptrend in BOI registered investments confirms what the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has been saying--that businesses have remained optimistic on the prospects of the economy.
The BPO industry, which is identified as the major source of employment and investments in Central Visayas, is projected to record an average annual growth of 20 percent.
“Together with tourism, the BPO industry has become a major growth driver of the region’s service sector,” a brief on Central Visayas’ investments stated.
In the first half, BPO companies accounted for 40 percent of positions posted in a jobs listing website.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 10, 2011.
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