The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) notched a 13.2-percent growth in investments as of October, propping up the investment promotion agency’s outlook for a double-digit growth by year-end.
According to Director General Lilia B. de Lima, Peza has received investment pledges worth P174. 2 billion from January to October this year, reflecting a growth of 13.18 percent over the 10-month period.
This puts Peza on a more positive track to achieve at least a 10-percent growth this year, she said, in an interview with reporters at the Nordic Business Council of the Philippines’s (NBCP) Nordic ambassador’s luncheon event on Wednesday.
In terms of employment, the country’s second-largest investment-promotion agency registered 1.2 million new jobs from January to September, a growth of 7.9 percent from the 1.1 million jobs from the same period in 2014.
A more dismal outlook, however, is seen for exports as Peza-registered enterprises reported an estimated a slightly lower export receipts of September of just $32.7 billion, a contraction of -0.34 percent.
De Lima said she expects a flat growth in exports.