SO much has transpired in the course of almost two years since the pandemic struck. The health crisis took global economies to a tumble and governments struggled to slowly get back on their feet. It's a dire scenario that has left investors on a standstill, contemplating whether to continue planned investments or wait until things settle in the new normal. All matters considered, their investment woes are based on well-founded facts.

In the Philippines, foreign investments slid by over 30 percent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2021. Reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority attributed the slump in the first three months of the year to investor uncertainty during the pandemic. This is the fifth straight annual decline in terms of foreign investments. While total investments, including domestic ones, saw a spike of more than 40 percent, the investment outlook might still be far from rosy in the eyes of potential foreign investors.