PASAY CITY -- The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Charito “Ching” Plaza, along with Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Head of Mission Michael Peiyung Hsu and Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairman and Resident Representative Wilfredo Fernandez, has again announced that the Philippines is ready to welcome more Taiwanese investors to the country in line with the gradual reopening of the Philippine economy as the number of daily COVID cases reported has been decreasing.
This call comes after the conduct of the “Global Biz with PEZA” featuring Taiwan last November 24, 2021 (Wednesday), an initiative and forum to entice more investors to the Philippines amidst the pandemic.
PEZA Director General Charito “Ching” Plaza during the Global Biz with PEZA featuring Taiwan.
According to the PEZA Chief, “Having this Global Biz Forum is a really timely discussion as this can pave the way to build linkages with potential local partners and identify prospective locations in our ecozones where you can establish your enterprises.”
“We want to deepen and enhance business and investments endeavors with [Taiwan]. I believe that with our synergy, we can spur economic growth for our respective nations more efficiently. As neighbor countries, connecting links is paramount now that our societies and the world is now transitioning to ‘new normal’,” she added.
Attracting more investors PH
In line with PEZA’s initiatives to further attract investors to the country, the TECO Head Hsu assured support from his team in helping PEZA to aggressively promote the Philippines as an investment destination.
According to Hsu, more Taiwanese firms have expressed keen interest to invest in the Philippines encouraged by the initiatives of the PEZA to further ease doing of business for investors in the economic zone. This is with regards to PEZA’s Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), allowing PEZA to now issue its own visa.
Meanwhile, MECO Chairman Fernandez noted the importance of focusing on technology transfer to attract foreign direct investments (FDI).
“We would like Taiwan to look into the Philippines as a possible country of investment for their chip technology, as we all know that the chip manufacturing industry is the crown jewel of Taiwan. They need not recruit overseas Filipino workers but just settle in Manila and coordinate with PEZA,” said Fernandez.
Likewise, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) Industrial Park Vice President for Marketing Mr. Jake Jan and Tong Hsing Electronics Phils., Inc. President Mr. Ching-Hsing Lin also shared testimonies about being a PEZA-registered company and developer/operator and about PEZA’s brand of service and ease of doing business.
[From top left to bottom right:] Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Head of Mission Michael Peiyung Hsu, Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairman and Resident Representative Wilfredo Fernandez, and Director for Commercial Affairs Anthony B. Rivera, DTI-PTIC Taipei sharing their expertise during the Global Biz with PEZA featuring Taiwan open forum moderated by Mr. Aleem Siddiqui Guiapal, Group Manager of the Promotions and Public Relations Group.
Taiwanese investors in PEZA
As of August 2021, PEZA has a total of 112 locator companies registered and located in PEZA ecozones. These companies generate P32.678 billion investments which employs 40,359 employees and contribute $601 million in exports.
“It is noteworthy to share that in the history of rise of ecozones, the Philippines was second to Taiwan among the earliest to establish ecozones in Asia before it proliferated in different countries. From Foreign Trade Zone Authority to Export Processing Authority (EPZA), these transitioned in 1995 to what we know in present as PEZA,” Plaza shared.
According to the PEZA Chief, “Now more than ever, PEZA remains aggressive in keeping and even attracting more investors to the country. At the same time, we also understand and we are aware of the grievances and concerns of our locators and stakeholders since the pandemic started in 2020.”
“We must strive to pursue more investors who will play a vital role in developing our regions and help us achieve AmBisyon Natin 2040,” said Plaza. (PEZA)
TECO Industrial Park VP for Marketing Mr. Jake Jan (right) sharing his testimony about being a PEZA-registered developer/operator during the Global Biz with PEZA featuring Taiwan open forum moderated by Mr. Aleem Siddiqui Guiapal, Group Manager of the Promotions and Public Relations Group (left).
