Peza investment pledges up 37%

Screengrab from https://www.peza.gov.ph/

MANILA, Philippines — Investment pledges to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority rose by over a third in the first five months of the year as more manufacturing companies established operations within the country’s export zones.

Data released on Wednesday showed that Peza-approved projects reached P101.476 billion at end-May, up 37.12 percent from P74.005 billion in the same five-month period last year.

Peza Director General Lilia B. de Lima told reporters that foreign investors “keep on coming” to the country because of the improving investment climate.

De Lima said the Japanese were the top investors in the first five months.

She said the bulk of the new investments was in manufacturing, particularly electronics.

PEZA promotions and public relations manager Elmer H. San Pascual said in a separate interview that ecozone development projects were also on the rise.

San Pascual said that a number of economic zones have been expanding their areas, while many new buildings were also constructed for information technology locators outside Metro Manila, especially in the Visayas. Peza no longer grants tax incentives to IT parks located within Metro Manila.

In a presentation at the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Convention and Exhibition (PSECE) 2014, De Lima said the growth sectors for Peza this year are: agro-industrial; electronics (automotive electronics, consumer electronics and printing equipment); garments, bags and shoes; IT services; and transport (aerospace, car parts and shipbuilding).

Meanwhile, latest Peza data as of end-March showed that ecozone exports inched up 2.6 percent to $10.327 billion from $10.065 billion last year, while direct employment increased by 14.06 percent to 1,069,302.

This year, Peza targets to grow investments, exports and employment by 10 percent, eight percent and 12 percent, respectively.

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