THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) on Wednesday said it has approved P12.86 billion in investments for January, with over 1,000 new jobs and projected exports worth $59.74 million.
The amount of investments, however, was 57.36 percent lower compared to a previous peak of P30.156 billion in January 2025.
Explaining the drop, PEZA said it views the current environment as a period of measured adjustment, rather than withdrawal, as investment strategies evolve.
“Investors today are taking a more deliberate approach — prioritizing resilience, efficiency and long-term value. What is encouraging is that the Philippines continues to offer stable fundamentals that allow export-oriented investments to move forward with confidence,” PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said.
“These approvals reflect the continued confidence of investors in the Philippines’ long-term growth story and our ability to deliver a stable, predictable and competitive investment environment,” Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said.
At its first board meeting for the year on Jan. 23, PEZA said it endorsed a total of 18 new projects comprising 13 locator enterprises and five ecozone developers.
Two ecozone projects, one in Misamis Occidental and one in Batangas, have a combined value of P5.9 billion.
A tourism enterprise in Parañaque is worth P5 billion.
The other projects are in Quezon City, Marikina, Laguna and Cavite.
Outside Luzon are projects in Cebu, Camarines Sur, Misamis Occidental and General Santos City.
These span multiple sectors, including seven in manufacturing, five in ecozone development and two in information technology-business process management.
The domestic, utilities, logistics and tourism sectors have one project each.
Japan still top investor
Japan remains PEZA’s top investor for this month, followed by the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore and China.
PEZA said it remains focused on sustaining investor confidence through policy stability, ease of doing business and the continued competitiveness of its ecozones.
In 2025, approved investments totaled P260.89 billion.
This year, PEZA is targeting P300 billion and 100,000 new jobs.
“We are realistic about the environment, but we are equally confident in our direction. With a robust pipeline and consistent investor engagement, PEZA is well-positioned to work toward achieving our target for this year,” Panga said.
