Peza investment pledges dropped 13.66% as of Oct

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said its investment pledges dropped nearly 14 percent in the first 10 months to almost P63 billion, reflecting the lingering adverse impact of the protracted COVID-19 pandemic.

Peza said in a statement on Thursday that pledges reached P62.7 billion as of October, a 13.66-percent decline from the P72.64 billion reported in the same period last year.

“The decline in investment pledges and projects in Peza was felt more in 2021. This is because when the first quarantines began in the Philippines in March 2020, there were pending applications for investments and projects that were approved. Thus, 2020 performance didn’t immediately decrease,” said Peza Director General Charito Plaza.

“Due to the strict lockdowns implemented last year, the approval of projects filed in early 2020 were delayed until mid to late last year. Business groups, entrepreneurs, and exporters were on a wait-and-see mode and had lower risk appetite in their investments during the pandemic. Hence, the impact of the pandemic was really felt this year,” she added.

Peza registered around P95 billion worth of investment pledges in 2020. Although this marked a nearly 20-percent decline from the P117.5 billion commitments in 2019, this was still beyond the initial expectations of Peza, which  was expecting to get only half of what it got in 2019.

For 2021, Peza is eyeing to grow total pledges by 7 percent from 2020.

“We will constantly perform our best to attract investors to the country. We still have two months left this year, and there’s still a lot to happen. Let’s continue to have a positive outlook as we unite in reviving our economy,” Plaza said.