The Philippine Economic Zone Authority said Tuesday investment approvals increased 8.6 in the first six months to P32 billion from P29.5 billion in the same period last year.
PEZA director-general Charito Plaza said the investments came from 119 new and expansion projects that accounted for a 5.3-percent growth over 113 projects in 2020.
“PEZA remains true to its mandate of promoting investments, creating employment, generating exports and attaining total economic development in our country as we maintain and implement strict COVID-19 protocols and guidelines in our ecozones. We will continue to transform challenges into opportunities so we can ceaselessly serve our Filipino people, our partners, locators, and investors,” she said.
Meanwhile, exports from economic zones amounted to $24.781 billion from January to May. Employment in the first five months also reached 1,604,877 workers.
Plaza said majority of the investments came from Japan, South Korea, India, Hong Kong, China Germany, Austria, France, Canada and the US.
PEZA also identified the top-performing destinations in terms of investments, led by Region IV with P10 billion, followed by Regions VII, XI and the National Capital Region.
The PEZA board approved 62 new projects in June, including 22 IT projects, 20 export manufacturing enterprises, 13 facilities and 7 economic zone development projects.
Plaza said the approved projects are essential industries “especially as we continue to go back to our vibrant and booming economy.”
“As we all move forward towards herd immunity and reopening our economy, PEZA is positive that we can fulfill the last few months of 2021 with flying colors. The COVID-19 pandemic cannot stop us from performing at our best and ensuring that we continuously attract more investments, generate exports, and produce jobs for millions of Filipinos even post-pandemic,” she said.