THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) closed the first quarter of 2025 with over P50 billion worth of approved investment commitments.
It approved 66 new and expansion projects worth P58.947 billion in the January to March period.
This was already 24 percent of the investment promotion agency’s approved investments target for the year.
Year-on-year, investment commitments greenlit by PEZA grew by 294.26 percent increase from the P14.951-billion in investment pledges approved in the first quarter of 2024.
The approved investments are projected to generate exports of about $497.461 million and approximately 16,000 jobs for Filipino workers.
“PEZA’s continued upward trajectory reflects our strong commitment towards investment promotion and facilitation, coupled with our most generous fiscal incentives under the CREATE MORE, and the other advantages placing the Philippines in a sweet spot for economic growth and development,” said PEZA Director General Tereso Panga.
He added: “PEZA continues to play a vital role in advancing the country’s economic resilience through sustained job creation, increased exports, and enhanced investment attraction.”
The agency said that in March alone, it approved a total of 27 new and expansion projects worth P6.014 Billion, up 110.66% from the P2.855-billion approved in the same period last year.
PEZA said the projects are seen to generate $223.497 million exports and directly employ more than 4,500 Filipino workers.
The approved projects in March covered various types of industries, including 12 IT-BPM projects, 10 export manufacturing, two utilities projects, two ecozone development ventures, and one domestic enterprise which will be strategically located across Metro Manila, Region III, IV, VII, and X.
Among the notable projects are two big-ticket ventures with a combined total of P2.615 billion set to create a water treatment facility in Batangas, and a coconut milk production plant in Misamis Oriental.
“We are bullish that we will sustain this upward trajectory coming into the second quarter of the year as we intensify our investment promotion initiatives partnered with the CREATE MORE incentives, the most generous fiscal incentives among ASEAN to date. We are already organizing various investment missions with our investment partners, and those led by OSAPIEA-DTI,” said Panga.
“We already received several inquiries and hosted inbound delegations from US, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Spain who are interested in investing in the ecozones. We are anticipating the influx of more investors looking into the Philippines for their offshore operations in Asia,” added the PEZA chief. (GMA Integrated News)
