Cumulative investments approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority grew by 153.74 percent in the first five months to P48 billion from P18.92 billion in the same period in 2022.
PEZA director-general Tereso Panga said the agency is close to reaching its 10-percent growth target in 2023. He said 20 projects registered in May would bring an estimated P14.93 billion worth of investments.
The agency said of the 20 projects approved in the last week of May, 11 are into export manufacturing; seven are IT projects; one is a facility; and another is on ecozone development. The projects will be spread out in Makati, Pasig, Taguig, Baguio, Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Cebu, Iloilo and South Cotabato.
The biggest project pre-qualified by the PEZA board for approval by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board is the P11.63-billion solar wafer cells manufacturing by Maxeon Solar Technologies using Maxeon 7 technologyin Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
Panga said the newly-approved projects were expected to generate about $293.55 million in exports and create 4,480 direct jobs.
“We are continuously seeing an uptrend with our investment approvals as we enter the first half of the year, and we are more aggressive in our initiatives to help our investors make the Philippines their smart investment choice, taking the cue from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who has been most active in promoting the Philippines in his outbound missions,” Panga said.
PEZA is constantly teaming up with government agencies and various industry associations to address the pain points that hinder investors to unlock the untapped potentials of the Philippines, he said.
PEZA officials recently met with Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Commission on Election Chairman George Garcia and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan to discuss the concerns of investors and present PEZA’s initiatives in support of the investment attraction and facilitation strategy of the government.
PEZA is also proactively consulting with Senator Loren Legarda for the creation of more ecozones in Antique and other provinces nationwide to spur countryside development.
It signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Information and Communications Technology to ramp up digitalization in government to ensure fast and efficient delivery of services to the public and carry out the Department of Trade and Industry’s directive to adopt digital transformation.
PEZA, with 3,431 registered business enterprises, accounts for 82 percent of the country’s total annual commodity exports and 60 percent of services exports.