PEZA investments surge 68% in January-May

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported yesterday that investments in the ecozones jumped by 67.79 percent during the first five months of the year.

In an interview, PEZA Director General Lilia de Lima said investments went up to P46.35 billion during the first five months of this year from P27.62 billion a year ago. Exports meanwhile rose by 84.15 percent to $2.11 billion during the review period from $1.14 billion a year ago. Projected employment likewise went up by 11.71 percent to 33,640 from 30,113.

De Lima reported that majority of the investors are from the electronics industry. She noted that most of the investments are expansion projects and there are only a few new investors. Given the high investment figures, De Lima said they will be revising their target this week.

At the same time, De Lima announced that Japanese firm Terumo Corp. is interested in expanding their investments in the Philippines. De Lima said the formal announcement for the new investment will be in July when Terumo chairman Takashi Watchi is expected to visit the country to celebrate a decade of operating in the Philippines.

“They are looking positively at the Philippines and they would like to invest here further,” De Lima said.

De Lima said Terumo has been manufacturing injections and catheters here in the Philippines. She said they are looking at manufacturing more of the over 2,000 products of Terumo. Terumo is located in Biñan, Laguna.

Capitalized at P1.48 billion, the company is an affiliate of Terumo Corp. of Japan, whose products are marketed in over 150 countries. They are in North America, South America, Australia, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.