The amount of foreign investment pledges secured by the Philippines saw a double-digit decline in the first quarter of 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported.Data released by the PSA on Thursday showed that approved foreign investment commitments booked by the country's investment promotion agencies reached P148.43 billion during the January to March period.This was lower by 63.6% from P408.22 billion in foreign investment pledges secured in the same period in 2023.
"Of the total foreign investment commitments during the period, the PSA said Singapore was the highest source with P70.06 billion worth of pledges or 47.2% of the total.This was followed by The Netherlands at P38.89 billion or 26.2% and South Korea at P20.23 billion or 13.6%.The statistics authority said electricity, gas, steam, and the air conditioning supply industry received the largest amount of approved investments at P109.19 billion or 73.