Peza approves P8.14-B investments in Q1

MANILA – The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has approved a total of P8.14 billion in investments from January to March this year.

Comparing the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), investment approvals of Peza in the first quarter this year plummeted by 67.9 percent from P25.38 billion project registrations in the same period in 2021.

In a press conference Thursday, PEZA director general Charito Plaza said the decline in registration of investment activities in economic zones is anticipated given the ongoing pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the upcoming national elections.

Aside from the change in administration in June this year, the Peza chief added that investors are cautious in their investment decisions here, especially firms in the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector, as the government no longer encourage the work-from-home (WFH) set-up for this industry.

She added that since the country has yet to issue the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), the government’s three-year blueprint for priority industries and economic activities that can be granted fiscal incentives, investors put on hold their decisions to register their businesses in PEZA. /