Gov’t reports 61% rise in ecozone investments

SLOWLY RECOVERING FROM LAST YEAR’S slump, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority has approved almost P13.6 billion worth of new investments in January, 60.9 percent higher than the P8.4 billion reported in the same month last year.

In a report to Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Peza director general Lilia de Lima said that, of the total amount, P13.5 billion was committed by locators, while P75 million came from developers.

The year before, locator investments amounted to only P6.6 billion, while developer commitments reached P1.8 billion, she said.

The 36 approved investments in January, she said, could generate $790.3 million in export sales—a 216.6-percent jump from the year-before figure of $249.6 million.

Once off the ground, the committed projects in January should also provide direct employment to 10,023 individuals—106.5 percent higher than the 4,855 direct jobs created in the same period a year ago.

In 2009, Peza registered a 13.3-percent growth in approved investments, breaching its target of a 10-percent growth for the year.

The number of approved projects for 2009 reached 502—2.14 percent lower than the 513 registered in 2008. But total value was 13.3 percent better at close to P175.4 billion, from the previous year’s P154.8 billion.

Projected exports as a result of these approved investments totaled $11.5 billion, up 110.58 percent from the $5.5 billion registered in 2008.

The only target that Peza missed for the year was that for employment generation, De Lima had earlier said.

The 502 approved projects for 2009 had the potential to generate 79,435 jobs, compared with the 82,123 jobs created in 2008. This represented a year-on-year decline of 3.27 percent, much lower than Peza’s earlier projection of a 5-percent increase.

“Most investments were still in electronics, even at the height of the recession. Medical instrumentations also registered a significant value,’’ De Lima said.

For this year, she said, Peza would aim for a 15-percent increase in investments, or a total value of a little more than P200 billion.

Manufacturing and electronics would continue to drive Peza investments this year, she said. –Abigail L. Ho, Philippine Daily Inquirer