Regional location of foreign direct investment inflow in the Philippines

Determining the regional location of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in the Philippines is important for regional economic growth and development. Many economists have long tried to determine the factors that attracted foreign investment into a host country. Philippine studies on FDI have focused on analyzing FDI determinants on a national scale, neglecting to determine the regional location factors that investors would consider when deciding where to locate their investment in the country. This paper conducts a panel analysis to determine the regional location factors of FDI inflow in the Philippines using registered project investment data from the Board of Investments (BOI) and a compiled regional dataset for 15 Philippine regions for the period 2001-2008 collected from various Philippine agencies. The study found market size, economic growth and paved road density to be positive and significant location factors in determining the inflow of FDI in the Philippine across regions