Investment pledges registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in the first quarter this year soared 294.26 percent to PhP58.947 billion from PhP14.951 billion, and accounting for approximately 24 percent of its 2025 investment approval target.
These approvals represent the combined project cost of 66 projects with exports projection of US$497.461 million annually, and creation of approximately 16,000 new jobs.
MARCH APPROVALS
For the month of March alone, the PEZA Board had approved 27 new and expansion projects worth PhP 6.014 billion, or 110.66 percent higher than the PhP 2.855 billion approved in the same period last year. These projects are seen to generate $223.497 million exports and directly employ more than 4,500 Filipino workers.
The March projects are engaged in various industries, including 12 IT-BPM projects, 10 export manufacturing, two utilities projects, two ecozone development ventures, and one domestic enterprise which will be strategically located across Metro Manila, Region III, IV, VII, and X.
Among these are two big-ticket ventures with a combined total of PhP 2.615 billion set to create a water treatment facility in Batangas, and a coconut milk production plant in Misamis Oriental.
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga stated, “PEZA’s continued upward trajectory reflects our strong commitment towards investment promotion and facilitation, coupled with our most generous fiscal incentives under the CREATE MORE, and the other advantages placing the Philippines in a sweet spot for economic growth and development. PEZA continues to play a vital role in advancing the country’s economic resilience through sustained job creation, increased exports, and enhanced investment attraction.”
The PEZA Board discussing approval of projects during its Mar 28 meeting
“We are bullish that we will sustain this upward trajectory coming into the 2nd quarter of the year as we intensify our investment promotion initiatives partnered with the CREATE MORE incentives, the most generous fiscal incentives among ASEAN to date. We are already organizing various investment missions with our investment partners, and those led by OSAPIEA-DTI,” stated DG Panga.
He added, “We already received several inquiries and hosted inbound delegations from US, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Spain who are interested in investing in the ecozones. We are anticipating the influx of more investors looking into the Philippines for their offshore operations in Asia.”
