Rent-free locations in Subic offered

Rent-free locations in Subic offered
to Taiwanese high-tech firms


The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will now offer rent-free locations to Taiwanese companies engaged in high-technology ventures.

Armand Arreza, SBMA administrator, said the incentive was agreed upon during the joint economic conference between Taiwan and the Philippines last week.

During the conference, Philippine officials led by Trade Undersecretary Thomas Aquino also forged an agreement with Taiwanese counterparts to grant Taiwanese manufacturers in Subic and the nearby Clark Freeport reduced tariffs under the Asean Free-Trade Area’s common effective preferential tariff scheme.

Under the agreement, the Taiwanese experts will also be sent to the country to assist in training integrated circuit designers.

The rent-free incentive, which will apply within the Subic and Clark free ports, will be good for three to five years and will cover firms that will each commit a minimum investment of $25 million.

Arreza said the inducement was meant to spur the entry of more high-technology firms in a bid to put up the country’s technological capability at par with major Asian economies.

“We’ve been pushing to attract companies in information and communication technology, software design, biotechnology and the like, and this new incentive is a concrete manifestation of our intentions to build our capabilities and be globally-competitive,” he said.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, there are now 79 Taiwanese firms in Subic, with total investment commitments worth $780 million. In Clark, eight Taiwanese companies have put up ventures worth $360 million.

Taiwanese are the second biggest investor group in Subic in terms of investment value, while Korean firms, boosted by the $1.6-billion shipyard project of Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. came in first.

Arreza said that with the new rent-free incentive, the SBMA expects to realize its long-term “Cyber-Subic” program, which focuses on developing ICT facilities in Subic and roping in investors in the so-called knowledge industries.

He said that the agency has already reserved locations for ICT industrial clusters in coordination with the Subic Bay Development and Management Corp., owner of the industrial park where most Taiwanese firms at the Freeport are now located.
-- Katrina Mennen A. Valdez