Total foreign investments from outside the country more than doubled in the last three months of 2023 as the energy sector received the largest amount of approved investments, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Thursday.

Data from the state-run statistics bureau showed that the total FI approved from October to December 2023 reached P394.45 billion, an increase of 127.2 percent from the P173.61 billion total FI in the same quarter of 2022.

The electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply industry received a chunk of Investment Promotion Agency-approved investments last quarter last year, at P335.87 billion or 85.1 percent of the total approved FI.

The manufacturing sector followed next with P48.96 billion and Administrative and support service activities with P5.70 billion, with a share of 12.4 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

According to the PSA, the investments came from the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, the Board of Investments, Clark Development Corporation, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

"However, no foreign investment approvals were reported by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, BOI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, Clark International Airport Corporation, John Hay Management Corporation, Poro Point Management Corporation, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority," PSA said.

Foreign and Filipino nationals' approved investments reached P585.15 billion during the last quarter of 2023, a 20.8 percent increase from the reported amount of P484.53 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

The share provided by Filipino citizens was P190.69 billion, or 32.6 percent.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, approved investments by foreign and Filipino nationals were projected to create 28,529 jobs overall.

Compared to the 38,256 predicted employment in the same quarter of the previous year, this showed a 25.4 percent reduction. Around 23,596 of the jobs created overall would be taken on by projects involving foreign investment.

With pledges of P162.92 billion, or 41.3 percent of the total approved FI for the fourth quarter of 2023, the Bicol Region of the country obtained the greatest share of all the regions.

Eastern Visayas came in second with P108.30 billion, followed by the Ilocos Region with PhP 58.52 billion. These made up 27.5 percent and 14.8 percent of the entire FI, respectively.