MANILA, Philippines — Investment approvals by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) fell by 33.18% in the first two months of 2026, despite an increase in the number of individual projects and a massive surge in projected exports.
- Total Investment Pledges: ₱35.37 billion (January–February 2026), down from ₱52.93 billion during the same period in 2025.
- Project Count: Rose to 52 projects, up from 39 last year, suggesting that while more deals are being signed, they involve smaller capital commitments.
- Job Creation: Projected new jobs plummeted to 5,000, compared to 11,063 in the previous year.
- Export Projections: In a major bright spot, projected exports jumped to $10.44 billion, a massive increase from the $274.96 million recorded in early 2025.
- Top Foreign Investors: South Korea led the list, followed by Indonesia, the British Virgin Islands, China, and Japan.
- Big-Ticket Projects: Three major projects in Bulacan, Pampanga, and Tarlac (covering tourism, domestic market enterprise, and ecozone development) accounted for ₱18.37 billion of the total.
- Locator Types: The 52 projects include 40 locator companies (Manufacturing, IT-BPM, Logistics) and 12 ecozone development projects.
PEZA Director General Tereso Panga remains “cautiously optimistic” about hitting the agency’s ₱300-billion target for the full year. However, he noted that PEZA is ready to recalibrate these targets if global trade uncertainties—particularly the ongoing conflict in the Middle East—continue to dampen investor sentiment.
Currently, PEZA manages over 430 ecozones across the Philippines, which the agency views as the “infrastructure backbone” of a globally integrated economy.
