Projects approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in the first 10 months this year rose 41.72 percent to PHP175.37 billion, making its officials optimistic of hitting the agency’s PHP250 billion target this year.

Data released by the agency on Friday showed that the 243 new and expansion projects approved by the PEZA Board as of the end of October this year are expected to generate around USD6.079 billion in exports and create 59,937 direct jobs for Filipinos.

Bulk of these investments are from Japan, followed by those from the Cayman Islands, South Korea, China, Singapore and the USA, among others.

During the same period, investments in domestic market-focused businesses reached PHP84.31 billion, which PEZA said in a statement is “a testament to both strong domestic investor confidence and the sustained interest of global players in PEZA ecozones.”

For October this year alone, PEZA approved investments from 28 new and expansion projects worth PHP20.66 billion, up by 162.64 percent against the year-ago’s nearly PHP7.87 billion.

PEZA said these projects are “expected to generate USD1.588 billion in exports,” higher by 182.33 percent from a year ago. It is also projected to create around 9,507 new jobs, up by 95.53 percent same period last year.

PEZA Director General Tereso Panga noted that, amidst the uncertainties both here and abroad, the latest investment figures “reflect the continuing confidence of our locators and partners in the ecozone program and the country’s long-term investment potential.”

He said their focus “remains on strengthening our ecozone program and ensuring a stable, transparent, and competitive business environment that supports sustainable growth.”

“With over 70 percent of our investment target already achieved within ten months—and with strong pipelines of projects still under review—we are confident and optimistic of meeting and hopefully even exceeding our 2025 investment goal of PHP250 billion” he added.

Via PNA