Global slowdown won’t affect investment inflow, says DTI
Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
Philippine Star
The slowdown in the global economy has no effect on the inflow of foreign and local investors, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.
“Despite the economic slowdown, we are still getting good investments,” Trade Undersecretary Elmer C. Hernandez said in an interview.
In fact, Hernandez said the DTI is already in the midst of devising a new scheme that will attract both foreign and local businessmen to set up shop in the country.
“The global economy is slowing down but we are already crafting a program to address that,” Hernandez said.
In fact, the government is again courting a big ticket investor as it revises its investment target for the year after hitting the target in only six months.
“We are currently in negotiations with a big foreign investor,” Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said.
“There are secrecy clauses in our agreement. I cannot disclose it yet but we are nearing the end of our negotiations,” Favila said. “This will be very big.”
Favila also said they are already discussing by how much the investment approval target will be revised after BOI announced it has already met its 12-percent full year growth target in just six months.
“For sure we will increase it but I just don’t know by how much,” Favila said.
For her part, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director general Lilia B. De Lima said her office is not yet revising their investment target. “There is no need yet,” she said in a separate interview.
Investment approvals in the country increased twofold to P280.81 billion for the first half of the year in spite of the continued slowdown in the world economy.
Data released by the BOI and the PEZA showed that investment approvals for the first six months of the year was 115 percent better when compared to the same period the previous year.
According to Favila, the first semester figures released by the two attached agencies of the DTI prove that investors remain confident in the economy. Likewise, he said investment approval figures show positive signs that the government’s initiative to provide a conducive business environment is working.
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