MANILA: Investment pledges approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority dropped 26 percent last year to P218.2 billion from P295 billion in 2015. Peza director-general Charito Plaza said the uncertainties of the recent presidential election affected the economic zones’ performance in 2016.
“Adding to this were the pronouncements of US President-elect Donald Trump that dampened the interest of American companies operating in the Philippines to expand further,” Plaza said in a news briefing Monday. Employment at economic zones hit 1.32 million jobs in 2016, while exports by ecozone locators in the first three quarters reached $38.9 billion.
Plaza said the top investments promotion agency would make up to recover lost investments by trebling or quadrupling investment projects in 2017.
