The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is within reach of its P300-billion investment target for 2026, with approvals hitting about P297 billion by end-September and three months left in the year.
The nine-month tally represents 99 percent of PEZA’s full-year goal and has already surpassed the P260.89 billion in investments approved for all of 2025 by roughly P36 billion, signaling a stronger pace of investment commitments this year.
Approvals gained significant momentum in September. From P216.47 billion, or 72.16 percent of the annual target, at end-August, PEZA added about ₱80.5 billion in approved investments in a single month.
Manufacturing continues to anchor the investment pipeline. Of the 196 new and expansion projects approved through August, 80 were in manufacturing, alongside projects involving ecozone development, information technology-business process management and other facilities.
Beyond traditional manufacturing, PEZA is seeking to position Philippine economic zones higher up the technology and value chain, targeting industries such as artificial intelligence, robotics, factory automation and advanced electronics.
Recent registrations reflect that strategy, spanning motors and actuators for drones and robots, electronics manufacturing, aerospace, laser technology and global capability centers.
The shift toward more technology-intensive investments could give the agency’s growth more staying power, particularly as companies diversify production and service operations across Asia.
PEZA’s latest figures also point to a notable change in the investment cycle: the agency is not merely approaching its annual target—it has already outpaced the previous year’s full-year performance with a quarter still remaining.
With P3 billion needed to reach its 2026 goal, PEZA is entering the final stretch with considerable momentum. The remaining challenge is to convert its investment pipeline into registered projects and sustain the flow of higher-value commitments beyond the headline target.
The numbers suggest that 2026 is shaping up to be a stronger year for Philippine economic zones—and potentially a more technology-driven one.
