China has become the second largest foreign investor in the Philippines in 2019 after Singapore, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday.

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PSA data showed that China’s investment in the Philippines in 2019 increased by 74.9 per cent, reaching 88.7 billion pesos (roughly $1.75 billion).

According to PSA, Singapore is the biggest foreign investor in the Philippines in 2019 with 176.4 billion pesos (roughly $3.48 billion) worth of investments, while South Korea is the third-largest with 41.5 billion (roughly $820.2 million) pesos investment.

PSA data further showed that the total approved foreign investments to the Philippines in 2019 reached 390.1 billion pesos (roughly $7.70 billion), or 112.8 per cent higher compared to 2018.

China’s investment in the Philippines significantly increased in the fourth quarter of 2019.

“Foreign investments for the fourth quarter of 2019 were mainly driven by investments from China which accounted for 77.0 per cent, followed by South Korea and the U.S.A,” the PSA said.

It added that China committed 86.3 billion pesos (roughly $1.7 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2019.