TOP German firms, including a top pharmaceutical company, could invest in the Philippines following business-to-business meetings earlier this month, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said.

PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said that one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies was now preparing its application and that meetings were also held with automotive and semiconductor firms.

"We are excited to announce the identities of these companies once they file their application with PEZA," he said in a statement on Monday.

The PEZA said that it was also working with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center office in Berlin to invite one of the biggest industrial gas producers in Germany and EU to locate in the Philippines.

The weeklong investment mission, which ran from May 13 to 17, "aimed to touch base and understand the latest trends in the country and European region," said Panga.

"This also served as our follow-through on the recent visits of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Department of Trade and Industry in Germany, with the goal of increasing the presence of German investments in the country."