PEZA Exports Rise 9 Percent in Q1

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported that the total shipments exported by companies located in the country's different economic zones went up by 9.3 percent YoY to US$5.603 billion in the first quarter of the year.

According to PEZA director-general Lilia B. de Lima, the improved export performance by the ecozone locators is a signal of better things to come. She noted that the increase in exports this year was largely due to the steady recovery of the semiconductor and electronics industry.

The PEZA official expressed hope that a sustained growth in demand for the country's electronic products will greatly help in the country's overall export performance this year. The private exporters confederation had earlier predicted that the country's exports would climb by 10 percent this year, despite the threat of the SARS virus.

Electronic shipments account for over 50 percent of Philippine exports. Most of these shipments were produced by multinational companies that have availed themselves of export incentives dangled by PEZA.

Total annual shipments by PEZA locators have significantly increased from US$2.739 billion in 1994 to US$22.775 billion in 2002. Government incentives help export-oriented enterprises increase their profitability.

PEZA identified the country's top exporters in the first quarter of the year as the following: Amkor Anam Advance Packaging and Toshiba Information Equipment Inc., which are located at the Laguna Technopark; Texas Instruments, which is based at the Baguio Export Processing Zone; and Intel Technology Philippines Inc., which is located at the Gateway Business Park in Cavite.