The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) approved nearly P16 billion worth of investments in June, a significant increase from the same period last year.
The agency's board approved 22 new and expansion projects worth P15.85 billion in June, a 163.22% jump from the P6.02 billion approved during the same month in 2025.
Month on month, the value of June approvals inched up by 2.86% from the P15.41 billion approved in May.
The projects are expected to generate $401.05 million in export revenues and create 3,218 jobs, according to PEZA.
The majority of the projects are in export-oriented manufacturing and information technology-business process management (IT-BPM), with 12 and five projects approved, respectively.
The investments are distributed across various regions, with 11 projects located in the Calabarzon Region, three in Metro Manila, three in Western Visayas, three in the Davao Region, one in Central Luzon, and one in the Caraga Region.
The June approvals also included three big-ticket projects worth a combined P14.19 billion, which cover IT-BPM and ecozone development projects in Sto. Tomas and Alitagtag in Batangas, and Quezon City.
In the first half of the year, the PEZA Board approved 157 new and expansion projects worth P140.7 billion, up 94.42% from the P72.36-billion investments approved in the same period in 2025.
The approvals in the first half account for nearly half or 46.7% of PEZA’s P300-billion target for 2026.
The projects are expected to generate $3.37 billion in exports and 23,140 jobs, according to PEZA.
The agency's investment pledges mainly came from investors based in the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, and Japan.
PEZA Director-General Tereso O. Panga said the rise in investment pledges in the first half reflect the Philippines’ attractiveness to global investors.
The agency is also banking on the implementation of the updated Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) to attract investments in high-quality sectors.
Economists expect investment pledges to continue to grow, but some predict a moderation in growth due to ongoing geopolitical uncertainties.
