PEZA expects foreign investments to rebound in Q4 

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is optimistic that inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) will rebound in the last quarter of the year, according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

"We are optimistic that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to the Philippines will strongly rebound in the final quarter of the year, despite the 14.5% contraction in FDI inflows reported by the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) in August," PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said in a statement Wednesday.

Panga said latest PEZA data showed an increase in the number of projects backed by foreign equity from both new and existing ecozone investors.

He said that as of October this year, PEZA approved PHP91.8 billion in foreign equity from ecozone locator and developer projects, up by 20.7 percent from the PHP76 billion in the same period last year.

Panga said ecozone FDI accounts for about 74 percent of PEZA’s total investment pledges for January to October 2024, up from 54 percent in 2023.

"With the rapid setup time for ecozone manufacturing facilities, some of these projects are expected to begin construction and commercial production within the year," he added.

Panga said the newly enacted Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act would help further accelerate FDI inflows and boost growth in the country's economic zones.

"This momentum in ecozone FDI should contribute significantly to higher realized foreign investments, impacting the country’s balance of payments positively through current and financial account transactions from export-oriented ecozone companies," he said.

PEZA is optimistic that the PHP200-billion investment target for this year will be hit, driving sustained economic growth and opportunity across the country.