Pasay City - The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) maintains positive momentum for the year with the approval of PhP 72.362 billion investments from January to June 2025, marking a 59.1% year-on-year growth compared to the PhP 45.481 billion recorded during the same period in 2024.
This significant increase reaffirms PEZA’s strategic position as the premier investment promotion agency catering to export-oriented and high-growth sectors. The agency’s proactive stance in facilitating ease of doing business, improving investor confidence, and aligning investment strategies with the Marcos Jr. administration’s socio-economic goals has been instrumental in attracting fresh and expansion projects.
“This continued surge in investments affirms PEZA’s role as a vital engine for economic growth and job creation for the country,” said PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga. “We are reaping the fruits of our aggressive promotion efforts, investor-centric reforms, and continued commitment to making the Philippines a competitive and resilient hub for global industries. The confidence shown by both new and existing investors is a strong signal that our ecozones are thriving and open for business.”
H1 2025 Performance
From January to June 2025, PEZA approved a total of 133 projects, showing a healthy 10.83% increase from 120 projects approved during the first half of 2024. These projects are seen to generate 32,983 direct jobs for Filipinos, a strong 30.58% rise in employment compared to the 25,259 jobs projected to be created in the same period last year.
During these months, 8 big-ticket projects were also approved, bringing in above PhP 50 Billion investments.
South Koreans come in as the biggest investor for the first half of the year followed by the Americans, Chinese, Dutch, and Japanese. In terms of sectoral investments, manufacturing of food and beverage products tops the list followed by ecozone development and IT-BPM.
January to June 2025 Approvals
June 2025 Board Approval
The PEZA Board, chaired by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque, convened last 19 June 2025 wherein they approved 31 new and expansion projects expected to bring in PhP 6.022 billion in investments, contribute US$ 161.43 million in export revenues, and generate 3,646 direct jobs for Filipinos.
Most of the newly approved projects are export-oriented enterprises with 14 projects, followed by seven (7) in the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector. The rest include four (4) domestic market-oriented projects, four (4) in logistics operations, one (1) focused on facilities development, and one (1) developer project, signaling a healthy mix of sectors that are both globally competitive and locally impactful. These projects will be in CAR, NCR, Regions III, IV-A, VII, and XI.
Furthermore, investments in June 2025 registered a significant surge of 113.77%, reaching PhP 6.022 billion, a substantial increase from the PhP 2.817 billion recorded in May 2025.
June 2025 Approvals
Apart from these projects, PEZA is actively pursuing and assisting over 50 investment leads through its robust investment promotion campaigns. As a result of the various outbound missions, PEZA likewise welcomed several high-level inbound delegations during the period representing USA, China, Japan, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, and even domestic exploratory missions within the Philippines. These missions brought interest in EMS-SMS and advanced manufacturing activities, automotive, aviation, and IT-BPM projects such as IT healthcare and IoT solutions.
“The Philippines is surely in a sweet spot to attract FDIs at this time and surely, Filipinos and the whole country will reap the results of our combined hard work soon. PEZA is making headway in its mission to contribute to national economic recovery and inclusive development,” noted DG Panga.
Furthermore, DG Panga expressed optimism in achieving the set target for the year with the agency’s investment performance for the first half of the year. He credited the growth to the continued trust of investors and the strengthened support systems under PEZA’s investment facilitation strategies.
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