November 1, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Investments approved in the economic zones rose by 42 percent from January to October, reflecting investor confidence in the country despite domestic and external challenges.
In a statement, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it approved P175.37 billion worth of investments for 243 projects, higher than the P123.76 billion in the same period last year.
These projects are expected to generate $6.08 billion in exports and create 59,937 jobs for Filipinos.
The approved projects cover manufacturing, information technology – business process management, domestic market enterprises, facilities management, ecozone development, logistics as well as utilities.
By investment source, Japan reclaimed the top spot, followed by investors from the Cayman Islands, South Korea, China, Singapore and the United States.
PEZA also approved domestic market-oriented investments, which reached P84.31 billion in the 10-month period.
“We recognize the current global and domestic factors influencing overall investment sentiment. Within this context, based on PEZA’s performance, this reflects the continuing confidence of our locators and partners in the ecozone program and the country’s long-term investment potential,” PEZA director general Tereso Panga said.
Earlier this week, he said PEZA has not yet seen the flood control corruption issues affect investments being made in the country.
He said the US plan to impose a levy on semiconductor imports, however, is a concern, with electronics and semiconductors being the country’s top export.
At present, the 19-percent tariff imposed by the US on Philippine goods does not apply to semiconductors.
For October alone, PEZA registered P20.66 billion worth of investments for 28 projects. This marked a 163-percent jump from the P7.87 billion in investment approvals in the same month last year.
These projects are expected to lead to $1.59 billion in exports and generate 9,507 new jobs.
The approved projects in October include three big-ticket projects amounting to P16.33 billion.
Big-ticket projects are those with investments of at least P1 billion.
“With over 70 percent of our investment target already achieved within 10 months – and with strong pipelines of projects still under review – we are confident and optimistic of meeting and hopefully even exceeding our 2025 investment goal of P250 billion,” Panga said.
To attract more investments, he said PEZA remains focused on strengthening the country’s ecozone program and ensuring a stable, transparent and competitive business environment.