2 IT firms to invest $40 M in Subic

Two international firms are looking at investing $40 million for two information technology (IT) parks in Subic Bay, a move that is expected to catapult the freeport zone into an Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub.

“We are negotiating with Century Development Corp. and Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) to develop two IT parks,” Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand C. Arreza said in an interview.

“The big investments will come when firms start locating within the IT parks,” he explained.

Taiwan-based Century Development Corp. was the developer of Taipei ‘s own industrial park, the Nanking Software Park while Jafza is a subsidiary of Dubai World.

Arreza said the infrastructure for the IT parks is expected to be completed in two years. The parks will be built in a 19-hectare land. For the construction of the building alone, he said the investment could be as much as $1 million per hectare.

Upon completion, Arreza said the two IT parks will provide 12,000 to 15,000 new jobs in Subic.

In terms of revenue, the new IT parks can bring in as much as $30,000 per call center seat annually.

The administrator said they are currently courting two US-based call centers to set up shop in Subic. He said the two firms are expected to set up between 6,000 to 10,000 seats.

Arreza refused to name which call center firms they are negotiating with but said these call centers are already present in the country.

Arreza said he expects to sign the agreement with Century Development next month while they are still negotiating with Jafza.

Arreza said Jafza is likewise looking at investing in logistics.

The construction of the software park is expected to spur the information technology industry in the country. According to him, the software park will house companies that provide research and development and programming services.

Initially, he said the park will host call centers but eventually, Arreza said business process outsourcing (BPO) companies will also locate in the area.

“We will get the high tech industries from Taiwan to use our IT (information technology) talents,” Arreza said.

“This development is similar to Eastwood in Quezon City ,” Arreza explained. The administrator said the development in Subic will be an integrated development wherein commercial spaces and education and training facilities will be built.

This forms part of the phase two of Subic Bay ‘s Industrial Park.

“The focus has shifted from low cost manufacturing to the production of high technology supplies with high value added,” Arreza said.

The government official said it is too difficult to go head to head with China in the manufacturing sector because the other country has economies of scale. Meanwhile, he said the IT park can take advantage of the numerous qualified graduates the Philippines is producing.