PEZA 2009 investment pledges grow at slower pace
Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, BusinessWorld
12/23/2009 | 09:28 AM
Investments committed to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) this year grew at a slower pace but still better than expected, as pledges made in the last quarter offset the decline recorded earlier, a ranking official said on Tuesday.
The state agency approved P175.365 billion worth of investment plans, up by 13.3 percent from 2008 levels. This growth breached the 10-percent target for the entire 2009, PEZA Director-General Lilia B. de Lima told a press briefing.
The investment pledges were made up of 502 projects estimated to generate 79,435 jobs. Export sales from these investments are expected to rake in $11.510 billion.
The growth is slower than the 16 percent increase to P154.77 billion in 2008. But it was a turnaround from the decline seen in the three quarters ending in October 2009. Investment commitments back then had dipped by roughly a third to P61billion, official data showed.
"From January to March, [it was a] nightmare," de Lima said, noting however that the picture improved in the fourth quarter with key pledges for a P62-billion mining operation, a P9.2-billion expansion of a Japanese electronics firm, and a new British investment worth P1.12-billion.
Next year, PEZA will be aiming for 15 percent growth in investment commitments, driven as usual by manufacturing projects, de Lima said.
The Board of Investments (BoI), for its part, earlier said it would not meet its target of matching 2008 investment levels this year. But its managing head, Elmer C. Hernandez, said pledges to the BoI, along with those made to PEZA, would hit the flat to 5 percent combined growth target this year.
De Lima went on to say that shutdowns among PEZA locators were neglible this year, accounting for only five of the roughly 2,000 registered firms. Employment among existing investors dipped by 0.5 percent as of end-November, while export sales fell by more than a fifth, she said without citing absolute figures.
The state agency approved P175.365 billion worth of investment plans, up by 13.3 percent from 2008 levels. This growth breached the 10-percent target for the entire 2009, PEZA Director-General Lilia B. de Lima told a press briefing.
The investment pledges were made up of 502 projects estimated to generate 79,435 jobs. Export sales from these investments are expected to rake in $11.510 billion.
The growth is slower than the 16 percent increase to P154.77 billion in 2008. But it was a turnaround from the decline seen in the three quarters ending in October 2009. Investment commitments back then had dipped by roughly a third to P61billion, official data showed.
"From January to March, [it was a] nightmare," de Lima said, noting however that the picture improved in the fourth quarter with key pledges for a P62-billion mining operation, a P9.2-billion expansion of a Japanese electronics firm, and a new British investment worth P1.12-billion.
Next year, PEZA will be aiming for 15 percent growth in investment commitments, driven as usual by manufacturing projects, de Lima said.
The Board of Investments (BoI), for its part, earlier said it would not meet its target of matching 2008 investment levels this year. But its managing head, Elmer C. Hernandez, said pledges to the BoI, along with those made to PEZA, would hit the flat to 5 percent combined growth target this year.
De Lima went on to say that shutdowns among PEZA locators were neglible this year, accounting for only five of the roughly 2,000 registered firms. Employment among existing investors dipped by 0.5 percent as of end-November, while export sales fell by more than a fifth, she said without citing absolute figures.
