PEZA investment approvals jump 112% to P63.5B in first four months

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported a significant surge in approved investments from January to April 2025, reaching PHP63.5 billion—an increase of 112 percent from PHP29.96 billion recorded during the same period last year.

In a statement on Tuesday, PEZA announced the approval of 20 new and expansion projects in April alone, amounting to PHP4.58 billion. These include seven export manufacturing projects, five information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) ventures, five facilities, two utilities, and one each in logistics and the domestic market sectors.

The newly approved ventures are expected to generate 9,000 jobs and boost the country’s export output by an estimated USD300 million annually. This brings the total number of approved projects for the year to 86, which are projected to create over 20,000 new jobs across the country.

PEZA Director General Tereso Panga attributed the robust growth to renewed investor confidence and the Philippines’ strong value proposition amid global uncertainties.

“PEZA’s continued upward trajectory reflects our strong commitment towards investment promotion and facilitation. Despite the geopolitical challenges, this momentum reflects renewed investor confidence in the Philippines as a resilient and globally competitive destination,” Panga said.

South Korea emerged as the top source of foreign investments, contributing PHP10.45 billion, followed by the United States (PHP2.53 billion), China (PHP2.17 billion), Japan (PHP1.66 billion), Hong Kong (PHP1.14 billion), and Singapore (PHP1.1 billion).

Panga emphasized that the influx of Asian investments is partly driven by the recently signed bilateral free trade agreement with South Korea and the evolving China 2 strategy, as companies look to diversify their manufacturing bases.

“With the current global trade volatilities and uncertainty in the supply chain, we have been receiving more queries about the Philippines and even welcoming several inbound delegations exploring investment opportunities within the ecozones,” he added.

Panga remains optimistic that more foreign investors will expand or relocate operations to the Philippines in the coming months, further strengthening the country's economic zone development.