PEZA Transformation, Mindanao Investment Opportunities Highlighted at US-ASEAN Business Council Roundtable

PEZA and ARMM delegation members exchange views with the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) members on matters of mutual interest at a roundtable discussion held in Washington, DC on 28 March 2017.

29 March 2017 WASHINGTON, D.C. — An investment mission led by Director General Charito B. Plaza, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Executive Director Aleem Siddiqui Guiapal, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao-Regional Economic Zone Authority (ARMM-REZA), highlighted the current transformation at PEZA and the investment opportunities in Mindanao at a roundtable discussion with the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) on March 28 in Washington, DC.

“We want to build on the past success of PEZA by revolutionizing the way we do business. We continue to avoid red tape, while providing investors the red carpet. However, we are also ensuring that PEZA is responding to the needs of the times, and to the priorities of the Duterte Administration,” Director General Plaza told a group of corporate executives from US companies that included Citi, Cargill, the Albright Stonebridge Group, DLA Piper, Hills & Company, Lockheed Martin, and Medtronic.

She also noted that PEZA is diversifying both the types of facilities it operates by encouraging more public and local government-owned economic zones, and the type of economic activities its facilities cater to by moving beyond traditional manufacturing to areas like agro-processing, tourism and renewal energy. She mentioned that PEZA has likewise begun venturing into creating defense-industrial complexes, with a view to establishing five of such facilities in strategic regions of the country. Moreover, PEZA has started working closely with ARMM in prioritizing Mindanao economic zones.

Executive Director Guiapal, moreover, provided a comprehensive briefing on the opportunities and investment potentials in Mindanao and the ARMM. He discussed the ongoing efforts to develop five key and strategic economic zones in the ARMM and spoke broadly of the Zamboanga Special Ecozone, Mindanao Railway System, and the Tagum Aerotropolis — all Mindanao development corridor projects. He also noted the geographical proximity of Mindanano to other ASEAN countries, which provides opportunities for trade and investment expansion.

Following the presentations, Elizabeth Dugan, USABC Vice President for Operations chaired the roundtable discussions also attended by ARMM Agrarian Reform Secretary Amihilda J. Sangcopan, ARMM Treasurer Kanggo Umal, PEZA Deputy Director General Tereso O. Panga, Francoise Ferdinand Plaza, and Danilo Mangaya. END