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The Philippine Economic Zone Authority approved P201.551 billion worth of investments as of November 2024, overshooting its target of P200 billion for the entire 2024
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It is also 43.06% higher than the P140.88 billion approved from January-November 2023
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239 new and expansion projects greenlit for the first nine months are expected to generate over $3.9 billion in export revenues and provide jobs to more than 70,000 Filipinos
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17 new and expansion projects approved during the PEZA Board meeting on November 29 alone are seen to bring in P15.453 billion in investments
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has approved P201.551 billion worth of investments as of November 2024, overshooting its target of P200 billion for the entire 2024.
The latest cumulative figure is also 43.06% higher than the P140.88 billion approved from January-November 2023, and 14.7% more than the P175.71 billion total for the whole of 2023.
“As expected, investment approvals would pick up in the last quarter of the year,” PEZA director general Tereso Panga said in a statement, adding that there is still one more board meeting left for investment approvals in December.
“This only proves that investor confidence in the Philippines and in PEZA continues to thrive due to the government’s investor-friendly policy direction partnered with the ease of doing business inside our zones,” Panga said.
The January-November 2024 investment approvals cover 239 new and expansion projects expected to generate over $3.9 billion in export revenues and provide direct jobs to more than 70,000 Filipinos.
The number of projects are up 21.3% from 197 approved in the same period last year, while the projected export revenues are 14.07% higher. Employment opportunities were also 110.83% up from last year.
Of the total number of projects for the first 11 months of the year, 17 were approved during the PEZA Board meeting on November 29 alone, its second meeting for the month.
The new and expansion projects are expected to bring in a total of P15.453 billion in investments, generate $467.516 million in exports, and create 9,957 direct jobs.
The 17 projects are in various industries: 10 in export manufacturing, four in the information technology-business process management sector, two in facilities development, and one in ecozone development.
The projects are located across the regions of CALABARZON, Region 3, and Central Visayas, with four in Batangas, four in Laguna, four in Cebu, two in Cavite, and one each in Rizal, Pampanga, and Negros Oriental.
Panga said the S&P Global Ratings recently raising the Philippines’ credit rating outlook to “positive,” indicating a possible upgrade to an “A-” rating within 24 months, coupled with the recent signing into law of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE), “gives PEZA more leverage in promoting the Philippines as the best investment hub in Southeast Asia.” He noted that interest in investing in the Philippines is now coming from other non-traditional areas like the Middle East and Africa.
READ: Marcos signs CREATE MORE Act into law
“We are bridging the East with the West and I foresee the positive performance trajectory being sustained further in the coming year,” Panga said.
