A total of P52.01 billion worth of investments in Philippine economic zones were approved from January to July 2020, 27% lower than investments made in the same period last year, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
The investments came from 164 new and expansion projects.
For foreign direct investments (FDIs), PEZA recorded an increase of 26% to P36.26 billion from P28.75 billion in the same period last year. The growth was registered in the IT-BPO and manufacturing sectors, said the agency in a statement.
Local investments amounted to P15.75 billion, a 63% decrease from last year’s P42.46 billion.
For the manufacturing sector, investments grew by 24%, reaching P23.34 billion compared to P18.77 billion last year.
For the IT-BPM sector, P11.40 billion in investments were recorded, 37% higher than last year’s P8.32 billion.
Meanwhile, exports by PEZA companies and locators declined 7% to US$24.81 billion from January to June 2020 against the same period last year, while employment went down 3% to 1.476 million.
PEZA director general Charito Plaza said that while the COVID-19 pandemic affected the economy badly, she remains positive the country will be able to bounce back. “We have to treat this crisis as both a lesson and an opportunity,” she said.
