Clark firm ready for Subic-Clark-Taiwan export zones
By Dante M. Fabian, Sun Star
CLARK ECOZONE -- Authorities in Clark are optimistic about the formation of the Subic-Clark-Taiwan Export Process Zones Economic Corridor (SCTEC) as four areas of cooperation have been identified, making the two former military facilities as leading anchors that would support the economic agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In a report submitted to Clark Development Corporation (CDC), president Antonio R. Ng and CDC senior executive assistant Bernardo Angeles Jr. said they have lined up four "interest areas" in line with the SCTEC project which include airline industry, tourism, development of industrial park and Clark's sub-zone.
President Arroyo has included Clark and Subic in her 10-point agenda.
Angeles said four airlines flying the Kaohsuing-Taipei route may likely cancel operations when the high-speed railway becomes operational next year. The airlines instead may opt to establish new Kaoshiung-Clark route as an alternative.
The airlines are Mandarin Airlines, Far East Air Transport Corp. (FAT), TransAsia Airways and UNI Air. FAT already has Teipei-Clark flights.
With the opportunities, CDC and Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) is requesting the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to provide competitive aeronautical fees for aircraft that will mount flights at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA). A reduction in Customs Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) fees is also being requested to entice these airlines to consider Clark as their alternative destination.
Aside from the advantage of airlines in Taiwan, there are also about eight million Taiwanese tourists who travel to various destinations in Asia. Of the figure, only 150,000 or barely 1.9 percent visit the Philippines.
To attract more tourists from Taiwan, Angeles said the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) and Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (Teco) entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) which will encourage more individual and group travel between the Philippines and Taiwan, including the fostering of commercial activities and services such as travel agencies, tourism operations and businesses, hotel chains, airline and maritime links and other tourism endeavors.
To promote tourism packages for Clark, the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (TCAO) of CDC has been coordinating with Meco and the Department of Tourism (DOT) for the inclusion of CDC in the Joint Working Committee. Clark is now working on affordable tourism packages to be offered to the Taiwanese market.
Angeles said on the industrial side, Clark is home to 14 Taiwanese industries with a total combined investment of around US$15 million. The firms employ about 1,164 individuals. With Taiwanese cluster industries looking at Subic and Clark, it is imperative for Clark to set up an industrial park where the cluster industries can be located.
Subic Bay has 100 hectares identified as industrial park. The park is being managed by a Taiwanese group under the Subic Bay Development and Management Corporation (SBDMC).
In Clark, CDC has identified an 80-hectare area west of the Clark main zone for development into a Taiwanese Industrial Technopark.
Clark has also identified a portion of the sub-zone for the agri-related ventures and aquaculture.
CDC has also coordinated with Meco to visit Taiwan to see various business ventures in agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture so invitations could be extended for these people to visit and take a look at the investment opportunities in Clark.
For the past five years, Taiwan ranked fifth among the major sources of Foreign Direct Investments in the Philippines (FDIP) and its external trade expanded by 9.03 percent to US$306.6 billion from January to October 2005.
With prospering economic relations and vast potentials still to be harnessed, a closer partnership between the Philippines and Taiwan through the establishment of an Economic Corridor involving special economic and export processing zones on both sides was conceptualized last May during the first visit of Taiwanese Economic Minister Mei Yueh Ho.
Through this economic corridor, Subic and Clark can serve as offshore economic platforms for Taiwanese industries and be attractive alternatives to countries in the region as host to certain cluster industries such as optical media, metal works, automotive and motorcycle assembly and parts, bicycles and footwear.
CLARK ECOZONE -- Authorities in Clark are optimistic about the formation of the Subic-Clark-Taiwan Export Process Zones Economic Corridor (SCTEC) as four areas of cooperation have been identified, making the two former military facilities as leading anchors that would support the economic agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In a report submitted to Clark Development Corporation (CDC), president Antonio R. Ng and CDC senior executive assistant Bernardo Angeles Jr. said they have lined up four "interest areas" in line with the SCTEC project which include airline industry, tourism, development of industrial park and Clark's sub-zone.
President Arroyo has included Clark and Subic in her 10-point agenda.
Angeles said four airlines flying the Kaohsuing-Taipei route may likely cancel operations when the high-speed railway becomes operational next year. The airlines instead may opt to establish new Kaoshiung-Clark route as an alternative.
The airlines are Mandarin Airlines, Far East Air Transport Corp. (FAT), TransAsia Airways and UNI Air. FAT already has Teipei-Clark flights.
With the opportunities, CDC and Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) is requesting the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to provide competitive aeronautical fees for aircraft that will mount flights at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA). A reduction in Customs Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) fees is also being requested to entice these airlines to consider Clark as their alternative destination.
Aside from the advantage of airlines in Taiwan, there are also about eight million Taiwanese tourists who travel to various destinations in Asia. Of the figure, only 150,000 or barely 1.9 percent visit the Philippines.
To attract more tourists from Taiwan, Angeles said the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) and Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (Teco) entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) which will encourage more individual and group travel between the Philippines and Taiwan, including the fostering of commercial activities and services such as travel agencies, tourism operations and businesses, hotel chains, airline and maritime links and other tourism endeavors.
To promote tourism packages for Clark, the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (TCAO) of CDC has been coordinating with Meco and the Department of Tourism (DOT) for the inclusion of CDC in the Joint Working Committee. Clark is now working on affordable tourism packages to be offered to the Taiwanese market.
Angeles said on the industrial side, Clark is home to 14 Taiwanese industries with a total combined investment of around US$15 million. The firms employ about 1,164 individuals. With Taiwanese cluster industries looking at Subic and Clark, it is imperative for Clark to set up an industrial park where the cluster industries can be located.
Subic Bay has 100 hectares identified as industrial park. The park is being managed by a Taiwanese group under the Subic Bay Development and Management Corporation (SBDMC).
In Clark, CDC has identified an 80-hectare area west of the Clark main zone for development into a Taiwanese Industrial Technopark.
Clark has also identified a portion of the sub-zone for the agri-related ventures and aquaculture.
CDC has also coordinated with Meco to visit Taiwan to see various business ventures in agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture so invitations could be extended for these people to visit and take a look at the investment opportunities in Clark.
For the past five years, Taiwan ranked fifth among the major sources of Foreign Direct Investments in the Philippines (FDIP) and its external trade expanded by 9.03 percent to US$306.6 billion from January to October 2005.
With prospering economic relations and vast potentials still to be harnessed, a closer partnership between the Philippines and Taiwan through the establishment of an Economic Corridor involving special economic and export processing zones on both sides was conceptualized last May during the first visit of Taiwanese Economic Minister Mei Yueh Ho.
Through this economic corridor, Subic and Clark can serve as offshore economic platforms for Taiwanese industries and be attractive alternatives to countries in the region as host to certain cluster industries such as optical media, metal works, automotive and motorcycle assembly and parts, bicycles and footwear.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
8:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home