SBMA to offer free rent to Taiwanese firms engaged in high-tech ventures

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will offer free rent to Taiwanese companies engaged in high technology ventures to encourage more investments in the area, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said.

"We've been pushing to attract companies in information and communication technology (ICT), software design, biotechnology and the like, and this new incentive is a concrete manifestation of our intentions to build our capabilities and be globally-competitive," Arreza said.

The rent-free incentive was agreed upon during the joint economic conference between Taiwan and the Philippines last week, Arreza said.

He said the new rent-free incentive will help the SBMA realize its long-term "Cyber-Subic" program, which focuses on developing ICT facilities in Subic and roping in investors in the so-called knowledge industries.

The rent-free incentive, which will apply in Subic and Clark free ports, will be good for three to five years and will cover firms that will each commit a minimum investment of $25 million.

The agency has already reserved locations for ICT industrial clusters in coordination with the Subic Bay Development and Management Corp. (SBDMC), owner of the industrial park where most Taiwanese firms in Subic are now located. - Ma. Elisa P. Osorio/Philstar