[ Manila Bulletin Online ] January 11, 2009
By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said it is optimistic of continued growth in "anchor industries" to keep the Subic Bay Freeport afloat even in turbulent waters as it registered P5.75 billion in committed investments as of end 2008.
SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said the approved projects are expected to generate at least 1,000 new jobs to Subic’s 85,000 active workforce.
For 2009, SBMA expects modest growth in Subic’s tourism, manufacturing and maritime sectors as these "are likely to defy the global slowdown due to their firm foothold in the market."
These sectors, he explained, turned out the bulk of the P4.21 billion total investments that the SBMA approved in December 2008 – fresh infusions that Subic managed to secure even after the impact of the global financial meltdown began to sink in.
In the short term, Arreza said that growth may be generally flat in 2009, especially for certain companies in the manufacturing sector.
"But in the long haul, we expect the tide to turn and eventually lead to recovery," Arreza said.
"There should even be opportunities in the lean months, as some firms would shift production to more cost-competitive locations like Subic," he added.
In particular, Arreza said the tourism industry in Subic should prove to be resilient amid the expected slowdown because of its own local market niche.
In addition, he said that the SBMA and Subic business locators are now tapping the foreign market to bring in more tourism revenue.
An example of the more enterprising firms, Arreza said, is Subic golf course operator Hanafil, which was scheduled to bring in on Monday night the first planeload of golf players from South Korea under its "golf junket" program.
Arreza added that Subic is also eyeing the still emerging but potentially huge Chinese tourist market, which is expected to reach 100 million by 2015, by building more facilities and adding to Subic’s repertoire of nature theme parks and adventure sports attractions.
He said that Ocean Adventure, one of the popular tourist draws in Subic, is expanding this year and will build a hotel at the nearby Camayan beach resort that it also operates.
Anticipating bigger tourist turnouts in Subic this year, Puregold Duty Free also embarked recently on a $ 50-million expansion program for its duty-free retailing business here, Arreza added.
In the logistics sector, Philip Morris will be putting up in Subic this year a P1-billion warehouse to expand its tobacco leaf supply hub for Southeast Asia. This facility is expected to accommodate up to 24,500 metric tons of tobacco leaves.
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