09 March 2016 - Philippine Ambassador to the United States H.E. Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and Philippine Consul General to New York Mario L. De Leon, Jr., in cooperation with the Philippine Trade and Investment Office New York (PTIC), supported the Investment Promotion Agencies (IPA) representatives from key special economic zones and free ports in the Philippines in conveying the Philippine economic success story and highlighting investment opportunities in the Philippines to foreign corporate investors at a business forum at Eisner Amper LLC Headquarters in New York.
The event was part of a back-to-back roadshow with the Philippines Business and Investment Forum (PBIF) jointly organized by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, the U.S.-Philippines Society and the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Invivalink, a destination branding company and global events specialist company.
Several speakers from the Philippine Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) took the podium to convey key messages that point to special economic zones as regional growth drivers that promote economic inclusivity that make the Philippines an excellent investment destination of choice by top brands like Coach, Tory Burch, and Kate Spade who located in the Bataan Freeport Zone.
The presentations also explored the key opportunities in the different economic zones in the Philippines, specifically the Clark Freeport Zone, Subic Bay, Bataan Freeport Area, Zamboanga City and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority. The audience, consisting of different New York-based investors, had an opportunity to interact and hold one-on-one meetings with the IPA heads to learn from and meet the dynamic leadership behind each IPA.
Ambassador Cuisia praised the IPAs for conveying the rich economic and investment advantages located in the Philippines, which are evident in the country’s different development zones; foremost of which is the talented human resource available in the regions.
The featured speakers were Undersecretary Nora Terrado, Management Services Group/Chief of Staff, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Ma. Aurora Geotina-Garcia, Chairperson, Bases Conversion and Development Authority; Eliseo B. Santiago, Chairman, Clark Freeport Zone/Clark Development Cooperation; Roberto Garcia, Chairman & Administrator, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority; Deogracias Custodio, Chairman, Freeport Area of Bataan; Christopher Lawrence Arnuco, Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZA); and Jose Mari B. Ponce, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.
During the forum, the presenters answered question from the audience that relate to the Philippine advantage; history of U.S. companies investing in the Philippines; ASEAN integration and China’s economic slowdown and higher labor costs; migrating industrial activity away from Manila and toward the Central Luzon industrial heartland; and also highlighted was the creation of new cities in the Philippines, most notably the Clark Green City near Angeles City, Pampanga where the former U.S. Air Force base was located with its highly developed infrastructure still very much intact. END