PEZA investments up 110.73% in Jan-April

MANILA, Philippines - Investments in the country’s economic zones soared by 110.73 percent to P37.65 billion during the first four months of this year from P17.868 billion a year ago, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported over the weekend.

For the first quarter, PEZA Director General Lillia B. De Lima said the agency approved P28.85 billion worth of investments, a 111-percent increase from P13.67 billion a year ago.

According to PEZA, exports from the ecozones are expected to jump by 109.63 percent to $2.022 billion this year from $964.79 billion a year ago.

On the other hand, projected employment is expected to grow by 26.81 percent to 30,133 from only 23,762.

PEZA’s biggest investor during the review period was Japanese firm Nidec which infused P1.320 billion for a manufacturing plant in Laguna.

Earlier, PEZA said they expect to surpass the P200-billion mark in investments this year as they hope to grow by 15 percent in 2010. De Lima said that their target is to hit P201.67 billion this year following a good performance in 2009 wherein they exceeded their 10-percent target.

“This will be difficult but we need to catch up to other countries,” she said. “this year will be a better year.”

De Lima said that investments in the electronics sector will continue to fuel the growth but she said they are also focusing on getting investments in manufacturing.

Last year, in terms of the number of investors, De Lima said many come from the electronics sector. “They dominated the investments because even at the height of the financial crisis, electronics companies continue to expand just like Toshiba.”

Despite the global crisis, PEZA posted a 13.3 percent growth in approved investments of P175.365 billion from new and existing companies in 2009, up 13.3 percent from P154.773 billion a year ago.