Shipbuilder Hanjin plans to expand in Mindanao
ONE of the world’s largest shipbuilders, the country’s topmost ecozones administrator, told a Manila Times roundtable on Tuesday, is poised to carry out a major expansion here to cash in on increased global demand for ships, and is ready to plunk in a significant investment to foot the project.
Philippine Economic Zones Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia B. de Lima told editors and reporters of The Manila Times that her agency is in advanced discussions with shipbuilding giant Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. of Korea for a 300 hectare lot to contain the company’s proposed new facilities, with Misamis Oriental emerging as the front runner among possible sites.
“Hanjin is looking to expand, and the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (PHIVIDEC) site in Misamis Oriental is a big possibility [for the expansion],” she said. She declined to provide further details, as details of the project are still being negotiated.
The move comes on the heels of the company’s recent $1-billion investment in the Subic Bay Freeport to fund a 349-hectare shipbuilding facility. Hanjin is scheduled to deliver 33 medium-sized container vessels worth almost $3 billion in the next two years and build 82 large-sized ones from 2009 to 2011 from its Philippine operations.
“There is another company that is interested in the PHIVIDEC site, but right now Hanjin is very aggressive [in securing the site for their expansion],” de Lima said.
Hanjin employs 3000 people, and is expected to open up more than 13,000 direct jobs by next year and 15,800 by 2011 once its expansion plans are put in place.
Foreign investors continue to flock to the Philippines, as investments registered with the PEZA as of June 2007 hit P69.082 billion, or 201 percent higher than the P22.90 billion the incentive-giving body recorded during the same period last year, de Lima said.
Locators posted a 20.7-percent increase in shipments to $12.86 billion in the first four months of the year from P10.658 billion in the same period last year. PEZA employment also increased by 10.45 percent to 559,302 workers as of April this year from 506,391 in the same period last year.
The good investment climate and the country’s willingness to provide incentives to deserving companies is one of the main reasons why the Philippines is reaping increased inflows, de Lima said.
“Our job is to promote the Philippines as an excellent investment destination, and so far I think we are doing a very good job as investors are still coming in. The success of our economic zones is a testament to foreign investor’s confidence in the government and in PEZA,” she said.
De Lima expressed confidence that total investments in the country’s ecozones will breach the P100 billion mark by the end of the year, as existing locators and foreign-based electronics and semiconductor suppliers pour more money into their local operations.
“We are confident that total investments in PEZA administered zones will reach P100 billion because of strong investor interest in the country,” she said.
Goods shipped from PEZA administered zones accounted for 85 percent of the country’s total exports last year. Most of Manila’s dollar earning electronics and semicondutor products are manufactured from factories located there.
US-based Texas Instruments (TI), the world’s biggest producer of chips for mobile telephones, recently agreed to infuse $1 billion for a new assembly and test site earlier this year. De Lima said TI specifically asked to be administered by PEZA, leading to a special order from President Arroyo to carve out a 77,000-square-meter area at the Clark Economic Zone, a former US air base north of Manila.
According to de Lima, investor confidence is paramount to attracting more investments to the country, adding that her agency has a no-corruption policy, and is also geared to provide solutions to locators 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
She gave instances of how her selling missions have never failed to bring in investors because she took along “satisfied investors” from those countries to speak about their experience in the Philippines.
“We are a full service agency, and we are on call 24/7. We try to solve the locator’s problems. Whether it is for a simple matter or for complicated issues related to their operations, we lend a helping hand,” she said.
Manila Times
Philippine Economic Zones Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia B. de Lima told editors and reporters of The Manila Times that her agency is in advanced discussions with shipbuilding giant Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. of Korea for a 300 hectare lot to contain the company’s proposed new facilities, with Misamis Oriental emerging as the front runner among possible sites.
“Hanjin is looking to expand, and the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (PHIVIDEC) site in Misamis Oriental is a big possibility [for the expansion],” she said. She declined to provide further details, as details of the project are still being negotiated.
The move comes on the heels of the company’s recent $1-billion investment in the Subic Bay Freeport to fund a 349-hectare shipbuilding facility. Hanjin is scheduled to deliver 33 medium-sized container vessels worth almost $3 billion in the next two years and build 82 large-sized ones from 2009 to 2011 from its Philippine operations.
“There is another company that is interested in the PHIVIDEC site, but right now Hanjin is very aggressive [in securing the site for their expansion],” de Lima said.
Hanjin employs 3000 people, and is expected to open up more than 13,000 direct jobs by next year and 15,800 by 2011 once its expansion plans are put in place.
Foreign investors continue to flock to the Philippines, as investments registered with the PEZA as of June 2007 hit P69.082 billion, or 201 percent higher than the P22.90 billion the incentive-giving body recorded during the same period last year, de Lima said.
Locators posted a 20.7-percent increase in shipments to $12.86 billion in the first four months of the year from P10.658 billion in the same period last year. PEZA employment also increased by 10.45 percent to 559,302 workers as of April this year from 506,391 in the same period last year.
The good investment climate and the country’s willingness to provide incentives to deserving companies is one of the main reasons why the Philippines is reaping increased inflows, de Lima said.
“Our job is to promote the Philippines as an excellent investment destination, and so far I think we are doing a very good job as investors are still coming in. The success of our economic zones is a testament to foreign investor’s confidence in the government and in PEZA,” she said.
De Lima expressed confidence that total investments in the country’s ecozones will breach the P100 billion mark by the end of the year, as existing locators and foreign-based electronics and semiconductor suppliers pour more money into their local operations.
“We are confident that total investments in PEZA administered zones will reach P100 billion because of strong investor interest in the country,” she said.
Goods shipped from PEZA administered zones accounted for 85 percent of the country’s total exports last year. Most of Manila’s dollar earning electronics and semicondutor products are manufactured from factories located there.
US-based Texas Instruments (TI), the world’s biggest producer of chips for mobile telephones, recently agreed to infuse $1 billion for a new assembly and test site earlier this year. De Lima said TI specifically asked to be administered by PEZA, leading to a special order from President Arroyo to carve out a 77,000-square-meter area at the Clark Economic Zone, a former US air base north of Manila.
According to de Lima, investor confidence is paramount to attracting more investments to the country, adding that her agency has a no-corruption policy, and is also geared to provide solutions to locators 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
She gave instances of how her selling missions have never failed to bring in investors because she took along “satisfied investors” from those countries to speak about their experience in the Philippines.
“We are a full service agency, and we are on call 24/7. We try to solve the locator’s problems. Whether it is for a simple matter or for complicated issues related to their operations, we lend a helping hand,” she said.
Manila Times
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