Investments registered by Peza jump by 72%

Screen grab from peza.gov.ph website

Investment commitments approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) surged by 72.16 percent in the first 11 months of the year.

Data from the Peza showed it had approved investments worth P211 billion from January to November this year, up from the P122.5 billion it registered in the same period last year.

The number of projects approved in the same period likewise rose by 15.3 percent to 626, up from 543 recorded in the same months last year.

Peza Director General Lilia de Lima earlier expressed optimism that approved investment commitments in 2013 would surpass last year’s record of P312 billion, as existing economic zone locators pursued expansion projects while prospective new investors were seriously considering setting up shops in the economic zones.

Most of these new investors were into manufacturing activities.

To surpass last year’s investment pledges meant the Peza should be able to approve the registration of more than P100 billion worth of investments in December alone.

Peza and the other investment promotion agencies have been aggressively marketing the country as an ideal investment destination given its robust economic growth.

The Philippines is also enjoying a positive investment climate, with the investment grade ratings given by the top three global credit ratings agencies early this year.

The surge in investment approvals is expected to continue until 2016, when the term of President Aquino ends. The government is expecting investments—both foreign and local—to grow by as much as 20 percent yearly during the last three years of the Aquino Administration.

Increases in investment commitments can be partly attributed to external environmental factors such as rising labor costs in other countries like China. In the Philippines, the cost of labor remained steady.