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Philippines: Ecozone investments soar 71% to P120.2 B
MANILA, Philippines – Investments registered at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) continue to pour in, surging 71 percent in the first half of the year on the back of sustained investor confidence in the current administration, the country’s ecozone regulator said.
PEZA director general Charito Plaza said investment pledges approved by the agency from January to June soared to P120.22 billion from P70.03 billion during the same period the previous year.
Plaza attributed the robust increase in investment commitments to the confidence of investors in the administration of President Duterte who opened up the country for “bigger and better businesses.”
Plaza is optimistic the growth in PEZA’s investments, exports and employment would be sustained and continue over the next five years as more investors flock to the Philippines.
She said new investments outside of the traditional investment sources have shown great interest in PEZA.
“These new investments will come from PEZA’s newly developing investments markets interested in the Philippines like the Middle East and China,” she said.
PEZA expects approved investments to triple to at least P654.54 billion this year and to even quadruple to as much as P872.72 billion from P218.18 billion in 2016.
Plaza, however, earlier expressed concern over the delays on the proclamation of new economic zones which have resulted in applications piling up at the Office of the President (OP).
She said some of the investment pledges approved by the agency since the start of the year would locate to new economic zones whose presidential proclamation remains pending in the OP.
Plaza said the delays are preventing companies from immediately starting construction of their planned facilities.
Source: http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/07/05/1716369/ecozone-investments-soar-71-p120.2-b