August 29, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Investments cleared by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) jumped by 72 percent to P105.83 billion from January to August compared to last year’s P61.69 billion amid continued efforts to encourage investors to set up operations in the country.
The PEZA said it approved the registration of 179 projects in the eight-month period, up by 10 percent from 163 in the same period in 2024.
The approved projects from January to August are expected to create 40,638 direct jobs, a 28-percent increase from the same period last year.
These projects are also expected to generate $3.38 billion worth of exports, 71 percent higher than the previous year’s $1.97 billion.
Of the approved projects in the January to August period, 82 are in manufacturing, 46 involve information technology-business process management (IT-BPM), 17 are domestic market-oriented activities, 13 are facilities, 12 are ecozone developments, five are logistics projects and four are utilities.
In terms of sources of investments, Cayman Islands topped the list with P13.14 billion.
This was followed by South Korea, China, the United States and the Netherlands.
For the month of August alone, investments approved by the PEZA dipped by eight percent to P14.87 billion from the same month last year.
The PEZA said the decline was seen with only one board meeting held this month compared to two conducted in the same month last year.
The 29 projects approved by the PEZA in August span a range of industries including export manufacturing, IT-BPM, domestic market-oriented activities, ecozone development ventures and facilities.
Of the approved projects in August, four are big-ticket projects with a combined investment of P11.24 billion.
These projects include two manufacturing ecozones to be developed in Tarlac, a 16-story facility in Davao City and a steel manufacturing plant with an expanded product line in Sarangani province.
Despite the drop in investment approvals in August, PEZA director general Tereso Panga said the agency has a healthy and robust pipeline of projects.
“And with our expanded regional engagements, we expect strong growth momentum in the months ahead,” he said.
