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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
INVESTMENT pledges made at the Philippine
Economic Zone Authority rose by almost two-fold at end-January.
PEZA announced that commitments made by
investors seeking tax incentives and other perks for the first month
of the year jumped by 98.53 percent from the previous year.
These investments cover 54 projects worth P6.212
billion, and promising to create 6,679 jobs. Last year, 40 projects
registered worth P3.129 billion and promising to generate 4, 442
jobs.
PEZA expects export revenues from these
investments to reach $776 million, or 79 percent higher than the
$156 million in estimated export sales from approved investments in
the same period in 2007.
Top investments for this month include AMI
Semiconductor Philippines Inc., which will expand its operations in
manufacturing semiconductor devices with a total investment of
P1.385 billion. The company will hire 1, 055 workers.
Convergy’s Philippines Services Corp. will
infuse an additional investment of P409 million to create 1,183 new
job opportunities.
Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila, who is also the
chairman of the investments-giving agency, said investment
performance is proof that the Philippines continues to be one of the
most preferred investment destinations in Asia.
For 2007, PEZA’s total registered investments
stood at P133.732 billion, or 60 percent higher than the
P83.674-billion pledged the previous year, and higher than this
year’s target of P100 billion.
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