Investments for first five months healthy — Roxas

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II assured yesterday that investments for the first five months of the year were "healthy" despite the global economic slowdown and the lack of big infrastructure projects for this year.

According to Roxas, while investments in special economic zones were down by 20.43 percent and that of the Board of Investment were 64.26 percent lower in the first five months of the year compared with last year’s levels, these are "not particularly worrisome" as the decisions for the investments were made in the last half of last year, particularly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US.

"Furthermore, the five-month investments are not dominated by one-of-a kind infrastructure projects that buoyed last year’s investments," Roxas added.

Roxas described the five-month investment level as "healthy."

He pointed out that jobs generated in the first five months of the year matches the number of jobs generated in the same period last year.

However, analysts said with the continued drop in investments, Roxas may have a hard time meeting his P50 billion investment target for 2002.

The biggest project approved by BOI during the five-month period includes the P1.347 billion investment of the Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. which will provide broadband service and mass-based Internet communication service.

Meanwhile, Roxas expressed his agreement with the suggestion of businessman Raul T. Concepcion for certain Cabinet secretaries to step down and turn over their agencies to professional managers if they have political plans for 2004.

Concepcion earlier said that the political ambitions of some Cabinet secretaries are hampering their ability to perform well in their respective posts because they are afraid to make any decisions that could alienate their possible constituents.