Ecozone investments nearly double to P74 B

MANILA, Philippines - Investment pledges approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) jumped 90 percent in the January to May period from a year ago mostly due to expansions undertaken by existing locators, officials said.

Elmer San Pascual, PEZA manager for promotions and public relations told reporters on the sidelines of the 10th Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Convention and Exhibition yesterday that approved investments by the agency reached P74 billion as of end-May, well above the P39- billion level in the same period  the previous year.

“Of the total, around 60 percent were expansion projects,” he said.

Most of the investment commitments came from Japanese firms, he added.

He noted though that the biggest investment approved during the five-month period was for a tourism project worth about P19 billion.

Given renewed interest from foreign firms to locate in the country, PEZA is projecting a 10-percent increase in investments this year from last year’s P311.95 billion.

PEZA director general Lilia De Lima told reporters in the same event that there are many foreign firms planning to set up operations in the country’s economic zones, with the total applications covering almost 2,000 hectares.

She said new areas are being developed in Cavite and Batangas.

“We will never run out of areas because as existing (areas) are being occupied, new zones are being developed,” she said.

San Pascual said exports made by locators in PEZA zones also went up three percent in the January to April period to $13.55 billion from $13.16 billion in the same period last year.

He said that as 65 percent of exports from the PEZA zones are electronic products, a weaker performance of that sector would have an impact on their total shipments.

Latest data from the National Statistics Office showed that the value of outbound shipments of electronic products declined 30.29 percent to $4.706 billion in the first quarter from $6.750 billion in the comparable period last year.

Despite the weak performance of the country’s electronic exports as of end-March, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. president Dan Lachica said in the same event that the group is sticking with its 5 - 6 percent growth projection for shipments of electronic products this year.

“We will have to work towards turning up the road maps and level up research and developments,” he said.

San Pascual also said PEZA expects exports from the country’s economic zones to rise 10 percent this year from last year’s $40.02 billion, as shipments of electronic products improve in the coming months.

Employment in PEZA zones is likewise seen to continue to increase as new investments are made.

As of end-April, the number of individuals employed in PEZA zones reached 952,215, up from 882,173 in the same period last year.

In 2012, the total number of individuals directly employed in the economic zones stood at 912,047.