THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it is expecting applications within the year for six expansion projects by Chinese locators valued at around P4.6 billion.
In a social media post, PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said the projections stem from PEZA’s first investment mission to China, which ran between Sept. 4 and 10.
“This recent PEZA mission to China will reinforce Chinese investors’ serious interest to further invest in the Philippines,” Mr. Panga said on Tuesday.
“Among the Chinese foreign direct investment commitments that we have secured were expansion projects of existing registered business enterprises (RBEs) for filing within the year,” he added.
The list includes C&U’s new building and production line that will increase its daily output for industrial bearings to 500,000. It will require an investment of P2.72 billion.
Huading is also investing P1 billion in an additional 1.3-hectare production facility at the Suntrust Ecotown Tanza.
Another commitment secured during the mission was Bocheng’s P700-million investment for the construction of a three-storey building for the production of plastic injection moldings at LIMA Estate.
Meanwhile, Tide Solar is investing an additional $3 million (P169.2 million) for the construction of another solar panel manufacturing facility in Anflo Industrial Estate.
The investment promotion agency also received commitments from Mass Power for the construction of a four-storey building and Boamax for the relocation of its electric vehicle battery charging pile equipment manufacturing operation from China to the Philippines.
During the mission, PEZA also conducted investment fora in Shanghai and Dongguan in Guangdong Province, where it developed investment leads from 11 Chinese companies.
PEZA, together with other investment promotion agencies (IPAs), also joined the 24th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen.
“The Philippine delegation participated in CIFIT to attract more trade and investments from China,” Mr. Panga said.
CIFIT featured business-to-business sessions, which were attended by Fujian Fuchuan Yifan New Energy Equipment, SciTech Pharma, Xiduoduo Group Co., Ltd. and six more companies involved in green ore processing, automotive manufacturing, and e-commerce.
“The IPAs look forward to hosting soon these new investments in the Philippines,” he added.
In the eight months to August, PEZA approved P2.02 billion worth of investment from China and Hong Kong, up from P769 million approved a year earlier.
“There are now 189 Chinese RBEs in PEZA, which have generated P47.3 billion in investment and 46,501 direct jobs,” Mr. Panga said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
