INVESTMENTS in the Visayas continued to gain ground as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) approved 23 new and expansion projects in the region from January to August.
Total approved investments nationwide more than doubled to P216.47 billion.
Peza said the 196 projects approved during the first eight months represented a 9.5 percent increase from 179 projects a year earlier, while the value of investments surged 104.53 percent from P105.83 billion in 2025.
The approved projects are expected to generate $6.604 billion in exports and create 26,994 direct jobs nationwide.
Of the total projects, 161 will be located in Luzon, 23 in the Visayas and 12 in Mindanao, supporting Peza’s efforts to promote more balanced regional development while strengthening established industrial hubs.
Manufacturing accounted for the largest share of approvals at 80 projects, followed by 31 ecozone development projects, 30 IT-BPM projects, 19 facilities projects, 15 logistics projects, 15 export-oriented enterprises for the domestic market, four tourism projects and two utilities projects.
Investor interest remained broad-based, with the Philippines as the biggest source of investments, followed by the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.
Peza said 34 of the approved projects were classified as big-ticket investments, with a combined value of P193.71 billion.
Nine big-ticket projects worth P62.05 billion were approved in August alone.
These include two facilities projects worth P35.39 billion in Tarlac, two electronics manufacturing services and semiconductor manufacturing services projects worth more than P3 billion in Laguna, and a billion-peso export-oriented enterprise in Tarlac.
Four ecozone development projects with combined investments of P22.39 billion are also planned in Cavite, Bataan, Davao del Sur and Cebu.
Peza’s first-half ecozone data showed actual exports reached $32.89 billion, up 2.35 percent from the same period last year. Direct employment also rose 1.56 percent to 1.82 million.
With more than 70 percent of its annual investment target already secured, Peza said it expects investment activity to remain strong through the rest of 2026 as it works toward its P300-billion target.
The agency said it will continue pursuing investments in green industries, advanced technologies and other high-value sectors through global trade missions and targeted partnerships. / KOC