The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) on Wednesday reported a 19.25-percent increase in investment pledges to P14.95 billion as of March 15, 2024 from P12.54 billion in the same period in 2023.
PEZA director-general Tereso Panga said the continued uptick in investments saw the approval of 50 new and expansion projects during the board meeting on March 15.
“PEZA is more than encouraged to sustain its growth momentum this year and onwards given the very positive investment climate statement recently issued by the US International Trade Administration and Bloomberg International, saying that business environment is notably better particularly within the PEZA special economic zones and that PEZA is a unique factor for the Philippines in terms of FDI attraction,” Panga said.
Investments approvals involved 20 export manufacturing projects, 13 IT-BPM project, 3 logistics, 3 facilities, 1 domestic market and 1 economic zone development.
The first-quarter investments are expected to bring in $616.59 million in exports and expand employment within the ecozones by 11,558 new workers.
Majority of the projects are located in Quezon City, Taguig City and Makati City, Calabarzon, Bataan, Pampanga, Cebu, Albay and Cagayan De Oro.
Meanwhile, top investments came from Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and Japan.
“We are positive that we will see a continuous upward trajectory with our aggressive investment promotion and facilitation as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. strengthen our bid to position the Philippines as the preferred investment destination in Asia, complemented by PEZA’s targeted and aggressive approach in investment promotion,” Panga said.
PEZA said it would conduct a follow-through on the pledges obtained by the Philippines during the President’s official state visits and attract the untapped strategic sectors that will be vital in the country’s economic growth and development.