Industrial MarketBeat Report

In March, the Philippine manufacturing sector experienced a notable deceleration, with the S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) sliding to a three-month low of 51.3 from 54.6 in February, also marking the weakest reading since the 50.2 recorded in December. This slowdown was primarily driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which prompted a national energy emergency and triggered significant supply chain disruptions. Similarly, manufacturing momentum in several ASEAN countries softened in March, with the regional PMI falling to 51.8 from 53.8 in the previous month. In the Philippines, industrial output and new export orders contracted, prompting manufacturers to halt procurement activities to mitigate escalating fuel and raw material costs.

In the final quarter of 2025, approved Foreign Investments (FI) surged to PHP 103.33 billion, demonstrating a robust 79.1% year-over-year growth compared to Q4 2024. The energy and utilities sector captured the highest concentration of foreign capital at 47.8%, with the manufacturing sector following at 33.6%. Geographically, CALABARZON secured the largest volume of FI pledges at 45.3%, while Central Luzon accounted for 34.2%. The FDI influx was primarily driven by the Netherlands, which contributed 32.0% of total foreign pledges, followed closely by strategic capital from Japan (17.3%) and Singapore (17.1%).