PEZA forges accords to facilitate investments in ecozones
March 7, 2018 at 17:00
PEZA forges accords to facilitate investments in ecozones
By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat | Published
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority has forged agreements with 23 institutions including six Japanese banks, state universities, and government agencies to facilitate inflow of investments and creation of economic zones in the country.
PEZA Director-General Charito B. Plaza said memorandum of agreements have been signed with six Japanese banks – Mizuho Bank, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Sumitomo -Mitsui Banking Corp., Resona Bank, Ogahi-Kyoritsu Bank, and Tokyo Star Bank.
These Japanese have offered credit financing facilities not just to Japanese companies but also to Filipino firms.
PEZA, which registers and administers the investments of investors, has also aggressively forged agreements with government agencies to ensure that public lands can be developed into ecozones according to their appropriate uses.
For instance, PEZA has tied up with NCIP which has estimated ancestral domains of 5 million hectares that can be converted into ecozones. PEZA will be holding dialogues with the indigenous peoples in these areas to make their lands more productive and earn additional income from rentals. Besides, development of their lands means jobs creation.
A MOA was also forged with the MDC, which is managing 80,0000 mining areas that are mostly idle lands for conversion into mineral processing ecozones.
There are also lands owned by PSALM (Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation’s), which manages the land assets of the Department of Energy. PSALM properties are located beside power stations, which could be very attractive to investors.
Aside from the government agencies, PEZA also has forged agreements with the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges for the building of KIST (Knowledge Innovation Science Technology Park) located in these SUCs. There are thousands of hectares covered by these SUCs but are mostly idle, Plaza noted.
Next week, the UP Board of Regents and UP System Chancellors are coming over as they are interested to join KIST.
PEZA itself is establishing a PEZA Institute, which will determine the skills needed by their investors. They will hook up with other government agencies like the Commission on Higher Education, Department of Education and TESDA to formulate a curriculum for the needed skills training of workers.
Plaza noted that there 1 million youth join the working age each but only half of them have finished college, but of the college graduates only 30 percent are employable because their skills do not match with the requirements of industries.
PEZA will soon create a technical working group to identify military reservation areas but which can be developed as defense economic zone. Already, a technical working group is preparing for the document of the 300-hectare government arsenal in Bataan as a defense ecozone.
In their initial talks with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, they agreed to look to look into Clark as possible military aircraft manufacturing hub and Subic as production hub for naval ships, patrol boats and submarines.
Source: https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/03/03/peza-forges-accords-to-facilitate-investments-in-ecozones/
