Manufacturing still tops Cebu export sales at $3B

CEBU, Philippines - While the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is seen to overtake manufacturing in terms of revenue and employment generation in the Philippines, Cebu’s exports is still being led by the manufacturing sector, a record from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) revealed.

As of December 2011, Cebu’s manufacturing sector generated a total export sales of US$3.63 billion, this is a combined export performance of 262 manufacturing and exporting companies which maintain operations at the economic zones.

The report further indicated that the Mactan Export Zone (MEZ I) with a total 154 locators is the leading economic zones which employees a total of 58,201 employees.

There are six declared economic zones in Cebu, of which locators are mostly the manufacturing and exporting industries. These are the MEZ-1, MEZ-2, Cebu Light Industrial Park (CLIP), MRI Ecozone, the West Cebu Industrial Park (WCIP), and the New Cebu Township.

These ecozones employ a total of 105,425 employees combined.

On the other hand, the IT-BPO sector is catching up in export contribution, as it contributed an estimate of US$1.25 billion export sales as of December last year. This is one-third of what the manufacturing sector has generated in the same period.

In Cebu, there are a total of four PEZA-registered IT parks, and IT-BPO buildings. These are the Asiatown IT Park, Cebu Business Park, HVG IT Park, and several IT-BPO registered building is. Total locators of these four cyberparks and IT building reached to 126 as of December last year. These

In the Asiatown IT Park alone, of which there are 72 companies currently holding operations and offices, employ a total of 65,000 people.

Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari S. Yu said that because of the sustained growth not only for the manufacturing sector and IT-BPO investments, but also in tourism, and other sectors, the real estate industry has benefited in this development.

Record showed that as of December 2011, Cebu’s available office stock totaled to 428,075 square meters. Condominium units available for residential occupancy has reached to 4,551, while hotel rooms in all category types now at 11,169.

According to Yu, this number is expected to grow in the next few months, or years, while developers are building more commercial and residential condominium, as well as hotel rooms, as Cebu is considered as the fastest growing economy in the Philippines. —(FREEMAN)