Taiwanese firms to build ecozone in Clark

A new economic zone will rise in Clark Freeport, as Taiwanese firms plan on establishing a new industrial estate. Their ecozone in Subic has already run out due to the fact that more Taiwanese companies are investing in the country.

Michael P.Y. Hsu, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office representative to Manila, said that Taiwanese investors are still in the process of looking for a suitable location in Clark. However, some of them have already sited their factories in Cavite.

Hsu also said that more Taiwanese firms are expected to invest in the Philippines this year, adding that investments from Taiwan in 2017 reached over P10.83 billion.

Much like the Subic ecozone, the planned new industrial zone in Clark will be funded by Taiwanese investors as well.

Hsu said that Taiwanese businessmen prefer Clark due to its convenient location and the absence of traffic. Moreover, he said that he is hoping the Philippines would consider implementing a visa waiver to Taiwanese nationals.

“We hope that the Philippines will also gradually consider visa waiver to our nationals. We are doing it first to show our goodwill,” he said.

The two countries have already benefited from the visa-free entry granted to Filipinos. In 2017, there were 290,000 Filipino tourists who visited Taiwan, while 300,000 Taiwanese visitors came to the Philippines.