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Global investors appeared to have lost their appetite for the Philippines, as total foreign investments significantly declined by 38.87 percent last year, sharply contrasting with the substantial investments in 2023.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that foreign investments from January to December 2024 totaled only ₱543.62 billion, a steep drop from the over ₱889 billion in the previous year.
Several countries reduced their investments in the country. Germany's investment fell from ₱394 billion in 2023 to ₱352.8 million in 2024; the Netherlands, from ₱350 billion to ₱50.22 billion; Japan, from ₱57.47 billion to ₱28.67 billion; Singapore, from ₱37.52 billion to ₱12.13 billion; and France, from ₱2.12 billion to ₱16.2 million. Both China and Taiwan halved their 2023 investments.
On the other hand, South Korea increased its investments to ₱100.34 billion from just ₱1.52 billion in 2023. Switzerland also increased its investments, from ₱37 million to ₱289.1 billion.
By industry, the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sector saw a massive 114.5 percent decline, falling from ₱732.37 billion to ₱341.50 billion. Similar trends were observed in information and communication (from ₱14.30 billion to ₱463.6 million) and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (from ₱1.28 billion to ₱90.7 million).
Some sectors partly offset these declines. Transportation and storage surged from ₱2.41 billion to ₱14.99 billion; accommodation and food service activities, from ₱247.8 million to ₱20.1 billion; and real estate activities, from ₱8.26 billion to ₱17.33 billion. Manufacturing investments also increased, from ₱110.94 billion to ₱126.13 billion.
Fourth-quarter 2024 decline
Approved foreign investments in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone totaled ₱57.70 billion, a significant 85.4 percent drop compared to ₱394.46 billion in the same period of 2023.
The fourth quarter also posted the lowest investment inflow compared to the previous quarters: ₱149.62 billion in the first quarter, ₱189.50 billion in the second, and ₱146.81 billion in the third.
Total approved investments from both foreign and Filipino nationals reached ₱373.70 billion, a 36.1 percent decline from the ₱585.17 billion reported in the same quarter of 2023.
Filipino investors contributed ₱316 billion, representing 84.6 percent of total approved investments in the fourth quarter of 2024.
