PEZA investments grow 13.2% in 10 months

MANILA, Philippines - Total investments registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) surged 13.2 percent year-on-year to P174.27 billion as of end-October on continued investor confidence by manufacturing firms in the country.

With the positive results, PEZA director general Lilia de Lima revised the agency’s earlier eight to nine percent growth target this year to at least 10 percent.

“We are looking at a double-digit growth this year,” De Lima said in an interview yesterday.

The number of projects registered with PEZA as of end-October rose 2.65 percent to 503 from 490 during the same period last year.

Direct employment generated by these investments likewise jumped 7.97 percent to 1.24 million from last year’s 1.15 million.

Value of products exported from the ecozones, meanwhile, was slightly lower as of end-September at $32.79 billion from the previous year’s $32.90 billion.

De Lima said PEZA expects the export figures to pick in the coming months and end on a positive note by year-end.

Last year, investments approved by PEZA amounted to P279.48 billion, up 1.2 percent from P276.13 billion in 2013.

De Lima earlier said PEZA’s thrust this year is still to encourage more manufacturing companies to choose the Philippines as an investment destination and set up facilities in line with the goal of achieving inclusive economic growth and generating jobs.

Combined investments approved by the Board of Investments and PEZA are targeted to rise 13.4 percent this year to P719.4 billion, after falling nearly 15 percent last year.