The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) is maintaining its ambitious P300-billion investment target for 2026 despite a significant drop in approvals during the first quarter of the year, according to data released over the weekend.
Investment pledges approved by Peza from January to March totaled P45.53 billion, representing a 22.77 percent decline from the P58.95 billion recorded during the same period last year. This places the agency at just 15.17 percent of its full-year goal.
Peza Director General Tereso Panga attributed the slowdown to global economic headwinds, noting that investors have adopted a more "calibrated" approach amid geopolitical tensions.
"I'm still confident that we will be able to meet our targets for this year based on our current assessment," Panga said in a statement. "However, if the conflict in the Middle East continues, I certainly believe that there will be global adjustments in the investment decisions of global companies."
Panga identified rising oil prices and uncertainty over global trade stemming from the Middle East conflict as key factors potentially weighing on near-term investment sentiment. The disruption of traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz has particularly impacted energy costs and supply chains.
Despite the overall decline in investment value, the number of approved projects actually increased to 78 in the first quarter from 66 a year earlier, suggesting a trend toward smaller average project sizes. Big-ticket investments still accounted for the majority of approvals, representing P36 billion or 79.08 percent of the total.
The approved investments are projected to generate $10.87 billion in exports and create 8,496 direct jobs. Manufacturing led the investment mix with 30 projects, followed by ecozone development (16), IT-BPM (11), facilities (10), logistics (6), tourism (2), and utilities (1).
Geographically, investments remained concentrated in Luzon with 67 projects, while the Visayas accounted for nine and Mindanao for two.