Investor confidence in RP remains strong — Roxas

Foreign and domestic investor confidence in the Philippines remains strong, according to Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II.

Roxas said this can be gleaned from the investment figures this year which showed that much of the investments this year came from companies that are already in the country.

As of end-November this year, the Board of Investments had reported that investments reached P101.6 billion.

According to Roxas, "a lot of that come from companies, particularly the foreign ones who are already here, which underscores the fact that those who are here, notwithstanding what else is happening, are expanding their operations in the country."

Furthermore, Roxas said Japanese companies which are already here and some other foreign companies are all expanding their operations.

Based on the report of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the top investors in the ecozones made additional investments for expansion.

These companies include Rohm Electronics Phils., which brought in P1.968 billion for its expansion project; Intel Technology Phils., Inc., which is investing another P1.412 billion for its expansion plan; Rohm Apollo Semiconductor which is pouring in another P619 million to expand its operations and Ube Electronics (Phils.) Inc. with P616 million earmarked for its expansion program.

Domestic investments are even more, Roxas noted, as he cited the major investments of Globe Telecom and Smart Communications.

Roxas emphasized that such investments are important "to the extent that local businessmen invest here, it means that they see opportunities, and through their work they were able to invest."