The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) recently reported a hefty increase of 1,215 per cent in the amount of committed investments that came into this free port for the first half of the current year.
From US$43.86 million posted for the same period in 2012, committed investments from new approved investments rose steeply to US$575.33 million from January to June this year.
“Despite a drop of 55 per cent in the number of new investment projects in the Freeport for the first half of the year, compared to (the first half of) last year, bigger investments have been signed up this year,” SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia disclosed.
According to the agency’s business group, the top five investments for the period were Resom Resort Philippines, Inc.’s expansion project, FFC Subic Seafood Corporation, Johanna-Subic Seafood Corporation, Simon and Stanley International Trading and Development Corporation, Inc., and Subic Bayview Development Corporation.
The combined committed investments of these projects alone added up to US$554 million, or 96 per cent of the total amount of committed investments from January to June.
Projected employment from new investment projects also climbed by 60 per cent – from 1,790 in 2012 to 2,868 this year. The increase largely came from the same top five investment projects, which made up 73 per cent of the projected employment for the period.
Garcia attributed the agency’s latest performance to the favorable economic trends in the country, noting further that with the country enjoying one of the fastest growth rates in the world and its recent investment rate grading upgrade by prestigious ratings agencies, “the Philippines today is definitely a big conspicuous blink in the radar screen of investors worldwide”.
“Encouraged by this scenario, we hope to sustain the positive inflow of investments into the Freeport for the rest of the year, especially in light of SBMA’s improved finances, which now allows us to plow back part of our earnings into upgrading our support infrastructure and equipment for better business and investment services,” he said. (AMF/MPD-SBMA)
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