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The Philippines approved P628.19 billion worth of investments in the third quarter of 2026, up 82.7% from P343.81 billion in the same quarter of 2025
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Projects related to the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply industry continued to have the largest share, accounting for 63.3% of the total
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Investments from Filipino nationals accounted for 73.6% of the total, amounting to P462.16 billion, up 71% year-on-year
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Approved foreign investments surged 125.3% to P166.03 billion
The Philippines approved P628.19 billion worth of investments in the third quarter of 2026, an increase of 82.7% from P343.81 billion in the same quarter of 2025, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Projects related to the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply industry continued to have the largest share, accounting for P397.81 billion or 63.3% of the total approved investments during the quarter. This was followed by real estate activities with P101.44 billion (16.1%), and manufacturing industry with P96.25 billion (15.3%).
Approved investments for the third quarter of 2026 are expected to generate a total of 27,799 employment, reflecting a 0.2% decline from the 27,843 expected employment in the same period of 2025. A total of 13,805 employment (49.7%) is projected to be generated from approved projects with foreign interest.
Filipino investors account for 73%
Of the total approvals, investments from Filipino nationals in the third quarter accounted for 73.6% of the total, amounting to P462.16 billion, up 71% from P270.114 billion in the same period last year.
Approved foreign investments, meanwhile, reached P166.03 billion, posting a 125.3% growth compared with the P73.69 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2025.
For the first nine months of the year, total approved foreign investments reached P336.45 billion, 97.7% higher compared with the P170.17 billion recorded during the same period in 2025.
READ: Q2 investments jump 73% led by Filipino ventures
The approvals were reported by six out of the 16 investment promotion agencies during the period, namely, 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.
By country of origin, Taiwan registered the highest amount of foreign investment pledges during the third quarter, contributing P76.27 billion or 45.9% of the total. Singapore followed with P40.48 billion (24.4%) and South Korea with P29.48 billion (17.8%).
In terms of industry, manufacturing had the largest share, amounting to P86.16 billion or 51.9%. This was followed by electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply with P52.61 billion (31.7%), and information and communication with P18.84 billion (11.3%).
Among the regions, Central Luzon received the highest share of foreign investment pledges, amounting to P76.94 billion or 46.3% of the total. CALABARZON came next with P32.69 billion (19.7%), and Cordillera Administrative Region with P28.19 billion (17%).
