PEZA sees record investment approvals this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) expects investment approvals to hit an all-time high this year, given four big-ticket projects in the pipeline.

“We have some more months to go. Definitely we will exceed the highest level (of investment approvals),” PEZA director general Tereso Panga told reporters on the sidelines of the Arangkada Philippines Forum 2026 yesterday, when asked for an outlook on this year’s investment approvals.

PEZA’s investment approvals hit a record high of P311 billion in 2012.

From January to September, PEZA approved P297.14 billion in investments, very close to the P300 billion target for 2026.

Panga said three big-ticket projects in the semiconductor, aviation and hyperscaler sectors are in the investment pipeline for New Clark City in Tarlac.

He said these big-ticket projects “will be applied for within the year, with each locator investing a minimum of P50 billion.”

A Japanese electronics firm also has a planned $1 billion investment for two manufacturing facilities in Laguna.

Panga said PEZA is also set to hold a board meeting next week, where it expects to approve around P10 billion in investments.

In addition, PEZA is set to hold investment roadshows in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan this quarter, where the agency expects to seal some investment deals.

Panga said the recent lifting of the moratorium on new information technology parks and centers in Metro Manila is also expected to boost investment approvals.

“As a result of that, we expect more GCCs (global capability centers) coming,” he said.

While PEZA has not yet set an investment approvals target for next year, he said the agency aims to beat this year’s performance, with the country projected to return to a higher economic growth path and rank among the region’s best-performing economies.

“The good signal that comes with it are more investments coming into the Philippines. That’s how we are. Historical performance (shows that) whenever we achieve high GDP (gross domestic product) growth is when we can attract also a lot of investments,” he said.

He said PEZA is betting on electric-vehicle and electronics firms to drive more investment approvals next year.

Beyond firms moving production out of China, he said the Philippines is seeing interest from firms that want to transfer operations from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, driven by geopolitical shifts.

He said Polish firms are also interested in investing in the country in agriculture, shipbuilding and electronics.

To attract more investment, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines executive director Ebb Hinchliffe said the country needs to sustain faster growth and speed up reforms.

While the government has put reforms in place to boost investment, he said implementation is not moving fast enough.

Hinchliffe said the Philippines needs to be “fast enough to compete, fast enough to innovate and of course, fast enough to deliver results and not just rhetoric.”

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