THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said it secured $4.04 billion in investment pledges from American companies, following its recent promotion trip to the United States.
Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said the Philippines could also gain an additional $500 million in investment deals from companies in the Middle East in the coming weeks.
Plaza said American oil- and gas-exploration firm OS Petro has pledged to invest $4 billion for 10 blocks, at $400 million per block.
“It will be for an onshore and offshore oil and gas project, a petrochemical refinery,” Plaza told reporters at the sidelines of the 22nd Investors Night held at the World Trade Center on Tuesday.
Executives from OS Petro will be coming in July to scout for possible sites, she added.
Peza said the government has also secured $4 million from PayOdd Inc., a mobile and online payment-processing and money-transfer service provider.
The recent investment road show of Peza in the Middle East also reaped gains: the government is set to sign memorandums of understanding worth $500 million on the occasion of a follow-up visit to take place in July, with President Duterte heading the party.
“We were able to gather these investment pledges during our last visit, and these will be signed when President Duterte goes there,” she added.
The $500-million investment pledges will be in agricultural or agroindustrial sectors, Plaza noted.
The forthcoming trip to be headed by Duterte will include Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.