PEZA to publish regional guide to economic zones

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) hopes to complete a reference guide to economic zones by the end of the month, to aid potential investors.

PEZA Director- General Charito B. Plaza said in a recent media briefing that this forms part of the agency’s objective of “aggressively inviting” firms to locate in the Philippines, following a decline in registered investment totals in 2016.

“Before the end of January, we hope have completed a map of economic zones of every region. So if there’s an investor, we simply ask them what their needs are, and they choose where they can locate,” she told reporters on Jan. 9.

PEZA-registered investment fell over 26% in 2016 to P218 billion. Ms. Plaza attributed this mainly to political uncertainty surrounding the presidential transitions in the Philippines and the US.

Part of the PEZA’s plan to offset the weak 2016 performance includes tapping the Middle Eastern market.

Plaza said that the agency will be conducting investment seminars in the Middle East in late February up to the first week of March, focused on opportunities in Mindanao.

“Because it was PEZA who initially talked with some businessmen in these countries, the Foreign Affairs department is asking us to be in the front line in formalizing the possible investments to the Philippines prior to the visit of President Rodrigo R. Duterte,” she said.

She said that the investment roadshow will visit Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Qatar; Dubai; Bahrain; Kuwait; and Oman.

“We hope to find investors especially for our new economic zones created in the provinces and cities of Mindanao because Mindanao is where the majority of our Muslim Filipinos are.”

Based on their initial talks, Ms. Plaza said that the investors are interested in tourism, agriculture, and the halal industry, which can cover food, cosmetics, and clothing.

She said the roadshow delegation will include representatives of the Departments of Trade and Foreign Affairs as well as local governments seeking to promote economic zones. —