Investment commitments increased 13 percent in the first 10 months to P174.4 billion from P154 billion a year ago, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority said Wednesday.
Peza director general Lilia De Lima attributed the increase in investments to the number of projects that would soon operate in different economic zones.
De Lima said Peza approved 503 projects, which were either new investments or expansion of existing projects, mostly in manufacturing.
Peza, one of the major investment promotion agencies, approves projects in economic zones that apply for tax incentives from the government.
Data showed that Peza approved only 490 investment projects in the first 10 months of 2014.
Employment at Peza-administered economic zones also increased 7.9 percent to 1.24 million as of end-October from 1.15 million a year earlier.
“We were so worried in the first and second quarter. But now, we are confident that we will achieve our target of double-digit growth for 2015,” De Lima said.
The agency also expects better exports by yearend, she said.
Exports from Peza locators were down by 0.3 percent to $32.8 billion as of end-September from $32.9 billion in the same period in 2014.
De Lima, who was a guest panelist during a forum hosted by the Nordic Business Council Philippines at the New World Hotel, said interest among Nordic countries increased due to better economic performance of the Philippines.
Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Denmark is set to bring in three investment missions to the Philippines on agribusiness, power and health in 2016.
Nordic Business Council of the Philippines president Bo Lundqvist confirmed there was an increased interest in the Philippines as an investment destination among foreign companies.
“As a business council we help potential investors to look at the Philippines. We have a never-ending lineup of delegations that come over here either from a group or individually. We also received commitments for next year in manufacturing, services, power and investment funds,” he said.