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Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) generated P88.3 billion in investments and registered 300 projects as of November 2020, lower by 19% and 40%, respectively, from last year
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As of October 2020, PEZA reported 0.6% lower export revenues and 2% less jobs
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To date, the PEZA board has approved 318 applications for new and expansion projects, projected to generate about 70,000 jobs
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From December 7 to 12, about 88% of companies were operating with 75% of the workforce, with IT-BPO companies 84% operational and manufacturers 91% operational
Investments in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) from January to November 2020 fell 19% and projects declined 40% compared to the same period last year, according to PEZA data.
PEZA said it generated as of November 2020 about P88.341 billion in investments with 300 projects registered, lower by 19% and 40%, respectively, from a year ago.
Comparatively, for the period January-November 2019 PEZA recorded P109.194 billion in investments and 496 registered projects, the agency said in a statement.
PEZA also generated US$45.085 billion from exports as of October 2020, which is 0.6% lower than the $45.340 billion in exports reported in the same period last year.
In terms of jobs generated, PEZA said it recorded 1.541 million jobs as of October 2020, down 2% from the 1.573 million jobs generated in the same period last year.
PEZA director general Charito Plaza said that PEZA has, like other investment promotion agencies (IPAs), “experienced a decline in investment applications this 2020 which can be attributed the global pandemic and the localized lockdowns, and also the uncertainties brought by the pending CREATE [Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act] legislation.”
But Plaza said PEZA remains “on top of its mandate” and continues to “think out of the box and [do] great balancing acts.”
Among these acts is calling for the retention of the current tax incentives of export-oriented companies, as the tax regime will be changed and rationalized if CREATE is passed into law.
“We continue to be positive about opportunities for the Philippines to attract trust and confidence of investors and business groups whether in terms of new or expansion projects,” she added.
PEZA cited a recent Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report, stating that among IPAs, only PEZA “registered year-on-year growth in foreign investment commitments during the July-to-September period with P20.3 billion, up 97 percent from P10.3 billion last year.”
To date, the PEZA board has approved 318 applications for new and expansion projects which are projected to generate employment of about 70,000.
PEZA said these applications prove that many investors are still looking to invest in the Philippines.
PEZA, meanwhile, noted that registered companies have been nearing getting back to 100% operations at the end of 2020.
For the period December 7 to 12, about 2,645 companies or 88% were operating with 1.108 million workers or 75% of the workforce employed under various work schemes. By sector, the information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) companies were 84% operational whereas the manufacturing industry was operating at 91%.
For the last two years of the current administration, PEZA said it is also gearing to fully adopt its “Transformational Roadmap” containing a 10-point program that seeks to eradicate the country’s import and consumption dependence in order to attain full industrialization and development of the Philippines.
