Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual is strongly encouraging locators and investors of the country’s industrial parks to be more proactive in convincing foreign suppliers and contractors to consider the Philippines as a manufacturing hub.
In particular, he urged First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) locators in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, to help the government increase the number of manufacturers in the area.
FPIP, a joint venture between the Lopez Group’s First Philippine Holdings (FPH) and Japanese sogo shosha Sumitomo Corp., is part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP).
In a round table forum at the FPIP on July 17, Pascual was quoted as saying that locators in the industrial park “have found a welcoming home for their manufacturing activities (and) are thriving despite the challenging geopolitical environment.”
FPIP locators include Collins Aerospace (US), The Philippine Manufacturing Company of Murata, Brother Industries Philippines (Japan), and Dyson Electronics PTE (United Kingdom). The industrial park currently has 150 locators and 70,000 workers.
Pascual said industrial parks have a “significant contribution to the industrial and economic landscape of the Philippines” and emphasized FPIP’s “thrust towards sustainable and responsible economic growth.”
During the forum, the DTI chief thanked foreign investors “for their continuing confidence in the Philippines” and “vowed to continue supporting efforts by the private sector to attract more investments.”
Meanwhile, FPIP President Francis Giles Puno said the government, through the DTI, has an “open door” and “open minds” when tackling and resolving issues important to foreign and local investors.
He noted that Batangas has been a strategic location for the Lopez conglomerate and a “vital driver of economic development” in the country.
First Gen’s Clean Energy Complex is also located in Batangas City, while the FPIP industrial estate occupies locations in both Sto. Tomas and Tanauan. First Philec’s manufacturing plant is also located in FPIP.