New Clark lands $1-B Taiwan tech investment
A Taiwanese technology company is pouring an initial $1 billion into a manufacturing facility in New Clark City, positioning it to become one of the biggest locators yet at the Tarlac industrial hub.
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Joshua Bingcang said the still-undisclosed company had already signed an agreement and made an advance payment.
“It’s a billion dollar investment that will bring in billions of dollars in exports,” Bingcang said.
The Taiwanese firm will initially occupy 30 hectares (ha) within the Filinvest Innovation Park in New Clark City.
Bingcang said the company had also expressed its intention to reserve another 60 ha for future expansion.
Bingcang said the project was among the first to be approved under the amended Investors’ Lease Act, which now allows foreign investors to lease private land for up to 99 years, from the previous 75-year limit.
Although Bingcang declined to identify the investor for now, he described it as a technology company that is already expanding its Philippine footprint.
“This is what we need to shore up our manufacturing base,” Bingcang said.
The project is also expected to bring technology transfer to Filipino workers, with the company set to begin hiring mechanical and industrial engineers in October and send recruits to Taiwan for training.
The engineers would return to the Philippines once machinery arrives early next year to help set up the equipment and factory production line.
The investment comes as the BCDA seeks to turn New Clark City into a major advanced manufacturing center, with semiconductors, electronics and other high-technology industries among the sectors being targeted.
The Taiwanese locator is separate from the planned 1,619-hectare Clark Advanced Manufacturing Park being developed principally through Philippine-US cooperation under the Pax Silica framework.
Bingcang noted that three other countries have expressed interest in developing similar industrial developments in New Clark City.
South Korea, he said, is interested at leasing at least 250 hectares, while Singapore is eyeing a larger 300 hectares. Taiwan is also interested in leasing at the site, which Bingcang noted had been master planned with the original intention of hosting advanced manufacturing and industrial facilities
