PEZA sees higher investments, exports in Q2

MANILA, Philippines – After registering a 50-percent drop in investments in the first quarter, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority expects the second quarter to be much better, with demand for the country’s products starting to pick up.

In an interview yesterday, PEZA Director General Lilia de Lima said the electronics and semiconductor sector, which accounted for the bulk of the country’s export dollars, was showing signs of recovery.

She said that during the general membership meeting of the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. last Monday, the mood of the members was upbeat, indicating better times ahead.

“I think we have bottomed out. The orders are starting to come in,” she told reporters at the sidelines of the PEZA Investors’ Recognition Day yesterday. “Companies have said they would start to expand.”

An American information technology firm, she revealed, had committed an investment of P998 million.

She declined to name the company, saying only that it had an existing business in the Philippines.

PEZA’s optimism is also being fueled by the fact that developers were still registering projects that were expected to generate more new investments, jobs and exports, she said.

One such project, she said, was spearheaded by the University of the Philippines in Los Baños.

The project, which was approved during PEZA’s last board meeting, involved the development of a 20-hectare IT Park and a 126-hectare agro-industrial park close to UPLB’s sprawling campus.

Funding for the project will come from UPLB, the government, and a private sector partner that the state university unit had yet to identify, she said.

UPLB has yet to determine the cost of the development.

In the meantime, the PEZA board named a new special economic zone, the Kananga Special Economic Zone, in accordance with Executive Order 661.

EO 661 called for the development of special economic zones near or adjacent to geothermal energy sites in the country.

The 30-hectare Kananga ecozone, located near the Lopez-led Energy Development Corp.’s Leyte geothermal power facility, is intended for companies involved in manufacturing, De Lima said.

About P248 is needed to develop the ecozone, she said. This amount will cover land development, utilities, and administrative expenses.–Abigail L. Ho, Philippine Daily Inquirer