Investment spending in the manufacturing sector grew by 2.0 pct in 2017 compared with the previous year, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said in a report released on Tuesday.
In the report "Investments in the Industrial Sector" (March - April 2018), IOBE said the increase in investments was in line with a mild rise of 3.0 pct in fixed-capital formation in current prices in metal products and machinery. The previous estimate (October - November 2017) was for an increase in investments by 12.1 pct in 2017. Most manufacturing sectors recorded an increase in investment activity last year, although some significant sectors recorded a big decline. The non-metal mineral and chemicals sectors recorded increases of 4.5 pct and 6.4 pct, respectively, the food/beverage/tobacco sector recorded an increase of 44.7 pct, while base metals rose 15 pct. On the other hand, investment spending in the clothing/footwear sector dropped 50 pct in 2017, in the textile sector it fell by 18.6 pct, while machinery equipment jumped 75 pct last year. Refinery products recorded a 56 pct drop in investment spending.