THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) approved P151.90 billion in investment pledges as of mid-July, up 70 percent from the 90.96 billion recorded a year earlier.
The investment promotion agency on Friday said the approvals covered 174 new and expansion projects, 16 percent higher than the 150 recorded during the same period last year.
Among these are 25 big-ticket projects worth a combined P131.66 billion or 87 percent of the total.
Manufacturing accounted for the bulk of the projects at 76. It was followed by information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) with 28 projects and ecozone development with 26.
The rest involved facilities (15), logistics (13), domestic market (10), tourism (4), and utilities (2).
Of the proposed projects, 144 will be located in Luzon, 22 in Visayas and 11 in Mindanao.
The Netherlands was the top investment source, followed by South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, and Germany.
The projects are expected to generate $5.91 billion in exports, 194.82 percent higher than the $2.0 billion recorded in the same period last year.
They are also projected to create 26,047 direct jobs nationwide.
In July alone, the PEZA Board approved an additional P11.21 billion worth of new and expansion projects during a meeting last July 16.
This was lower, however, than the P18.60 billion worth of approved projects during the same month last year.
Four big-ticket projects worth P8.82 billion accounted for almost 79 percent of the July total. These include two manufacturing projects in Batangas, an export enterprise in Davao del Norte and an ecozone project in Cavite.
The other approved projects involve export manufacturing (6), IT-BPM (4), domestic market (3), ecozone development (2) and facilities (2).
If realized, the projects are expected to generate $2.54 billion in exports and generate 2,907 direct jobs.
“The first seven months of 2026 demonstrate that investor confidence in the Philippines remains strong,” PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said.
The growth was said to be due to the country’s improving investment climate, supported by the implementation of the Create More, 2025-208 Strategic Investment Priority Plan and continuous investment promotion initiatives in key markets across Asia, Europe, and North America.
The PEZA said it remained bullish that investment leads would continue to be converted into concrete projects with over half of its 2026 goal already secured.
“As global companies continue to diversify their operations and strengthen supply chain resilience, PEZA is well-positioned to convert these opportunities into new investments, quality jobs, higher exports, and long-term industrial growth for the country,” Panga said.
