Investment of economic zones up 5 pct in first 11 months

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) approved investments of P222 billion ($4.96 billion) in the first 11 months of this year, up 5.3 percent from figures a year ago, PEZA said here today.

The growth came from increasing manufacturing activities in the sectors of electronics and semiconductor, transport and car parts; precision instruments; beverage; electrical machinery; fabricated metals; and chemical products, IT Services, and ecozone development, PEZA said.

Companies in the economic zone now numbered 3,313 as of June 2014 from 313 in 1995 while total direct employment inside the zones have reached over 1 million since 1995.

The country now has 306 operating economic zones in various locations nationwide with 67 industrial and export processing zones, 40 information technology parks, 161 information technology centers, 188 tourism ecozones, 2 medical tourism parks, agro-industrial parks.