Olongapo SubicBay BatangGapo Newscenter

Thursday, November 23, 2006

SBMA investments up $ 1 B in 9 months

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) posted investment pledges worth $ 1.36 billion from January to September 2006.

The figure is up by 6,851 percent from last year’s investment pledges of $ 19.6 million.

SBMA Chairman Feliciano G. Salonga said that the amount accounted for 89 projects that were approved by the board of directors during the period. Of this amount some $ 1.354 billion were derived from foreign direct investments (FDIs) while $ 12 million came from local investments.

Salonga added that during the third quarter alone, 21 projects worth $ 9.6 million were approved to add to the growing number of locators and investors, which totaled to 727 as of September.

Topping the list is Korean estate developer KT Global Subic Inc., which will invest million, and American caterer and general services provider Hacorphil Corporation with $ 2.7 million.

Meanwhile, the cumulative investment pledges of projects that were approved from 1992 to September 2006 by the SBMA Board have already reached $ 3.706 billion.

"The SBMA is seriously into attracting more FDIs into the freeport. We already have Hanjin shipbuilding as an anchor industry in the freeport and we will still attract more investments, particularly FDIs, to really drive Subic Freeport towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals," SBMA Administrator Armand C. Arreza said.

"This, more than anything else, will create job opportunities for the Filipinos and help the government reduce unemployment rate from 13 percent to about five to six percent, which is much lower than the national average of eight to nine percent," he added.

He further said that to achieve this, the SBMA and Clark will have to create 100,000 jobs each in five years, or 30,000 jobs a year to successfully reduce the unemployment rate in the country.

These approved projects from January to September are projected to create 13,154 jobs for residents of Olongapo City, Zambales, and Bataan.
By JONAS REYES - Manila Bulletin

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