SUBIC BAY

Taiwanese traders bullish on Subic business
Sep 05, 2019

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Taiwanese investors have expressed confidence on the business outlook at the Subic Bay Freeport with the opening here last week of semi-conductor and electronics trader Yubantec, the latest Taiwanese company to locate in this free port.
 
Dr. Chin Der Ou, chairman of Subic Bay Development and Management Corporation, Inc. (SBDMC), which manages the Subic Gateway Park here, said the ongoing facilities improvement projects being undertaken by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) portend better business in Subic.
 
“There are many facilities improvement projects now. There are road construction and repairs, drainage improvement, as well as capacity expansion of the Subic Expressway. These are all good for investors,” Dr. Ou said during the Yubantec inauguration.
 
“I’m confident that Yubantec will do well in such a favorable business environment,” he added.
 
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) representative Michael Hsu, meanwhile, said that more companies from Taiwan will locate in the Philippines, which he described as Taiwan’s “closest neighbor.”
 
“I assure you, the Taiwanese are willing to come to the Philippines to invest. And we have to find enough land for our locators especially in Subic Bay,” he added.
 
Yubantec, which is the latest addition to the Subic Gateway park locators, will engage in importing, designing, installing and after-sales services of air-conditioners, cold storage equipment and home appliances, as well as designing and sales of semi-conductors and electronic components.
 
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the 61 Taiwanese firms in Subic now comprise the third biggest number of foreign investors here.  Most are engaged in manufacturing and trading.
 
Taiwanese firms were among the pioneer investors in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, she added, as the Subic Gateway Park, formerly known as the Subic Bay Industrial Park, was the first industrial park to be established in Subic.
 
Built in 1994, the Taiwanese-owned industrial park is now home to global names like computer giant Wistron Infocomm (Phils.) Corp., air-con specialist Johnson Controls-Hitachi, lock-maker Tong Lung (Phils.) Metal Industry, and footwear manufacturer Datian Subic Shoes, Inc.

Eisma said the entry of more Taiwanese companies helps Subic drive its momentum in investment and employment generation, pointing out that the SBMA approved 77 new projects in the first six months this year, compared to 45 in the first half of 2018.

The new investments, as well as the 21 expansion projects green-lighted in the first half, are projected to create more than 3,600 additional jobs in the Subic Bay Freeport.
 
Meanwhile, Senator Richard J. Gordon, who also graced the Yubantec opening, welcomed the entry of more Taiwanese investors here and pledged continued support to the SBMA.
 
Gordon said the government has a lot of infrastructure projects going on, as well as in the pipeline, for this area of Luzon which should also result in increased investments and business.
 
Gordon likewise called on the Subic business community to contribute in public discussion of issues that impact the Subic Bay Freeport and urged the Subic Bay Chamber of Commerce to drumbeat the advantages of the Subic Bay Freeport to investors abroad.

News 2019