FOREIGN investment commitments to the Philippines more than doubled in the third quarter of 2026, with manufacturing attracting the biggest share of overseas capital.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that approved foreign investments from July to September reached P166.03 billion, up 125.3 percent from P73.69 billion in the same period last year.
The increase brought total approved foreign investment pledges in the first nine months of 2026 to P336.45 billion, nearly double the P170.17 billion recorded last year.
By country of origin, Taiwan emerged as the largest source of approved foreign investments during the quarter, accounting for P76.27 billion, or 45.9 percent of the total.
Singapore followed with P40.48 billion, equivalent to 24.4 percent, while South Korea ranked third with P29.48 billion, representing 17.8 percent of the total.
By industry, manufacturing attracted the largest amount of foreign investment pledges at P86.16 billion, accounting for 51.9 percent of the total.
Electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply followed with P52.61 billion, while information and communication secured P18.84 billion.
The three industries collectively accounted for 94.9 percent of approved foreign investment commitments in the third quarter.
The PSA said six of the country’s 16 investment promotion agencies reported foreign investment approvals during the quarter. These were the Board of Investments, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Phividec Industrial Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
Meanwhile, total approved investments from both foreign and Filipino nationals reached P628.19 billion in the third quarter, an 82.7-percent increase from P343.81 billion in the same period last year.
Filipino investors accounted for the bulk of these commitments, contributing P462.16 billion, or 73.6 percent of the total, while foreign investors made up the remainder.
Across all nationalities, electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply attracted the largest share of approved investments at P397.81 billion, equivalent to 63.3 percent of the total.
Real estate activities followed with P101.44 billion, while manufacturing accounted for P96.25 billion.
Despite the significant increase in investment approvals, the expected employment generated by the projects remained broadly unchanged.
The PSA said approved investments during the quarter were expected to generate 27,799 jobs, down slightly by 0.2 percent from the 27,843 projected in the same period last year.
Of the projected employment, 13,805 jobs, or 49.7 percent, were expected to come from projects with foreign interest.
