The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has increased its investment target for 2025 by 20 percent to P300 billion, encouraged by the “strong showing” of its promotional efforts during the first half of the year.
The amended target compares with the original upper-end goal of P250 billion. It also stands 27.66 percent higher than the original range’s low end at P235 billion, PEZA Director-General Tereso Panga said in a text message on Thursday.
It is also remarkably 40 percent higher than the P214 billion of project investment proposals approved in 2024, Panga said.
“The trajectory is upward, and we remain bullish that toward the end of the year, we can exceed last year’s performance,” Panga said. “We are ambitious, and we reviewed the target and recalibrated it because of the leads PEZA is pursuing. Toward the end of the year, on the high side, we see 40 percent growth to about P300 billion,” Panga added.
On Tuesday, PEZA announced it has approved P72.36 billion in investments for the first half of 2025, representing a 59.1 percent increase from P45.48 billion in the same period in 2024. It added that it is also actively pursuing and assisting over 50 investment leads.
Panga noted that for the first time, the United States and China have surpassed Japan as the traditional top source of investments.
PEZA-approved investments from the US totaled P3.2 billion, China, P2.5 billion, and Japan, P2.2 billion.
“For the first time in the history of PEZA, we’ve been seeing a lot of investments from American and Chinese companies located in China shifting operations to, or building redundant operations, in the Philippines to ensure their exports to the US are not disrupted,” Panga explained.
He attributed this to the reciprocal tariffs the US imposed on its allies, with the Philippines getting one of the lowest rates in the region. The tariffs have been paused for 90 days at a baseline of 10 percent, but the US said new rates will be announced on July 9.
“The foreign investments generated (by PEZA) are proof that the China plus two strategy, which we are implementing at PEZA, works, plus the free trade agreements (FTAs) that have been pursued and closed by the Department of Trade and Industry,” Panga said.
With PEZA’s strategy to diversify its market source and industry mix, “we expect to register big-ticket projects from new and expanding companies that are headquartered in the US, China, EU, and Japan” for the remainder of the year, he said.
He cited data that showed Korean companies have taken advantage of the FTA between Korea and the Philippines. South Korea now represents 15 percent of the investments generated by PEZA in the first half of 2025, making it the top investment source at P10.7 billion.
At the recent Asean leaders’ meeting, President Marcos Jr. also encouraged stronger inter-Asian trade among member countries to address some of the challenges brought about by US tariffs.
“The Philippines is one of the least affected, making us a choice location for companies from China and the US,” Panga added.
