The Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) reported a 4.2 percent increase in approved investments in the first nine months of 2024, reaching P115.88 billion from P111.2 billion in the same period last year.
PEZA director-general Tereso Panga said the new projects boost PEZA’s confidence in achieving its P200-billion investment target for 2024.
It said the 179 projects approved in the nine-month period were expected to generate $2.51 billion in exports and create 35,871 direct jobs.
“Year-on-year, the performance to date shows a vast improvement for the agency where there was a 24.31-percent increase in the number of new and expansion projects, 4.21 percent rise in investments, exports grew by 5.47 percent and, most notably, employment opportunities experienced a substantial 55.82 percent increase for 2024,” he said.
PEZA said that in September, it approved 16 new and expansion projects, bringing in P54.191 billion in investments, generating $541.04 million in exports and creating 4,044 new jobs.
These approvals mark the largest for the year, with a 285-percent increase in investments compared to September 2023.
The approved projects span a wide range of industries, including export manufacturing, IT-BPM, facilities development, ecozone logistics services and ecozone development.
CALABARZON continues to lead in attracting investments, hosting eleven projects, followed by Region VII and NCR.
PEZA approved its first big-ticket investment under the Marcos Jr. administration—a P50-billion project potentially eligible for incentives under the CREATE Law.
The agency also approved a P998.28-million ecozone development project in Batangas.
Panga said the big-ticket investments and ecozone development projects align with the President ‘s vision of achieving upper-middle-income status for the Philippines.
