PEZA projects rise 18.66% in 2 months
PEZA’s board approved 28 new and expansion projects that is expected to generate $661.095 million in exports and create 3,580 direct jobs
Investment promotion agency Philippine Economic Zone Authority, or PEZA, reported a surge of investment approvals in the first two months.
In a statement on Monday, PEZA said its board has approved a total of P12.096 billion in investments in the year to date, marking an 18.66 percent surge compared to the P10.194 billion a year ago.
“The significant upswing in investment performance within two months underscores the commitment to achieving target of P250 billion investments for this year,” PEZA director general Tereso Panga.
On 16 February 2024, the PEZA board approved 28 new and expansion projects that is expected to generate $661.095 million in exports and create 3,580 direct jobs.
The board meeting, held at the LIMA Technology Center– Special Economic Zone in Malvar, Batangas was attended by four board members representing the Department of Finance, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the National Economic and Development Authority, along with PEZA officials.
A total of 16 projects were approved for February that include 9 ecozone enterprises, three information technology enterprises, two ecozone logistics services and one developer.
These projects are anticipated to yield an investment of P9.884 billion, generating $591.476 million in exports and creating 2,243 direct jobs, and located in the First Philippine Industrial Park II, Daiichi Industrial Park, Light Industry and Science Park III or LISP III-SEZ, Laguna Technopark, PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate - Economic Zone, Lima Technology Center, Mactan Economic Zone II, People Technology Complex, 1 Nito Tower in Cebu City, Embarcadero De Legazpi in Legazpi City, Albay, Light Industry & Science Park IV and Hermosa Ecozone Industrial Park.
On the other hand, one of the new projects pre-qualified by the PEZA Board is engaged in the manufacture of solar wafer cells and will start its operations in July 2024.
In comparison to the corresponding period in 2023, the investments, exports, and jobs are 160.08 percent, 135.31 percent, and 319.25 percent higher, respectively.
LIMA visit
The PEZA board also visited the facilities of Epson Precision (Philippines) Inc. and Grandsun Advanced Electronics (Philippines) Co. Inc.
Akifumi Takei, president of the Japanese subsidiary, told PEZA that, “The Philippines, specifically at LTC-SEZ, hosts our largest facility among all our branches situated in China, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore.”
Takei added, “As of 14 February 2024, we have created 20,308 jobs in our three factories. We are also proud to say that 80 percent of our inputs in our Philippines are purchased locally.”
Grandsun Advanced Electronics (Philippines) Co. Inc. president Giovanni Gapasin said his company is composed entirely of Filipino workforce and is currently exporting to the USA, South America, Japan, Europe and Asia Pacific.
As of last month, Epson Precision recorded investments amounted to P18.837 billion while Grandsun Advanced Electronics reported a total of P75 million.