The Philippine Economic Zone Authority has secured P19.5 billion worth of approved investments for 1 to 15 December 2023, the investment promotion agency reported on Thursday.

According to PEZA Director General Tereso Panga, 24 projects were approved from 1 to 15 December 2023, amounting to P19.555 billion, with a projected employment of 4,515 to the Filipino workforce.

The number of approved projects consists of 21 projects for PEZA locators, while the remaining three were for development projects.

Broken down, the cost of approved projects for locators was P18.862 B, while for the development, the projected cost is P693.107 million.

Compared to last year's 1 to 15 December performance, the projects for this year are way higher versus the 13 projects approved by PEZA.

But last year's project cost was higher at P83.651 compared to P19.555 billion of this year.

In terms of exports, the projected export from 1 to 15 December 2023 was at $286.902 versus last year's $56.468.

Year to date, PEZA's total approved investment projects from 1 January to 15 December 2023 stood at 221, 13.92 percent higher compared to the 194 projects approved in the same period last year.

The total amount for the approved investments for the said period is P160.439 billion for the 221 projects, 14.03 percent higher compared to the P140.700 billion posted for the 194 projects from 1 January to 15 December 2022.

"The last board meeting of PEZA will happen on 19 December 2023," Panga said in a Viber message, to consolidate the total number of investment approvals for the full year 2023.