SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Total investments committed by Filipino-owned companies operating in this free port reached $1.07 billion as of the third quarter this year, again displacing foreign direct investments (FDI) which so far showed a lackluster performance after cornering 82 percent of all the investments generated here in 2010.
According to a report from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), local-investment firms entirely dominated the arena with 72 out of the 95 projects approved by the agency from January to September this year.
The SBMA said that local projects formed 99.18 percent of the $1.08 billion worth of investments it signed this year.
It noted that FDIs dropped by 99.21 percent from the $1.12 billion in January-September 2010 to $8.8 million for the same period this year.
With more and bigger projects in the first three quarters of the year, Filipino companies in Subic also dominated the list of Top 10 biggest projects here and shifted the bulk of investment pledges from services and logistics to energy-related ventures.
Records form the SBMA Business and Investment Group showed that three new renewable-energy projects with committed investments totaling more than $1.03 billion, or about 97 percent of the total, emerged as the top-three investors in January-September 2011.
These three energy firms are Energy Logics Solar Holdings Inc., which pledged $458.5 million in August to establish and operate a solar energy project; Jobin-SQM Inc., with $300 million in January to engage in renewable, nonconventional and environment-friendly energy sources and systems; and Energy Logics Philippines Inc., with $280 million in August to develop, install, construct and operate a utility-scale wind energy project.
The rest of the firms in the Top 10 list are: Multifront Marketing Corp., the fourth biggest, with $22.7 million for the importation and trading of lubricants, automotive and industrial diesel, fuels and other oil-based products; Rowena Minoo Samurai Inc., fifth, with $1.5 million for a construction business; First Subic Food Ventures Corp., sixth, with $932,000 for a McDonald’s fast-food chain; Flight and Simulator Training Inc., seventh, with $900,000 for an aviation and flight training school; Segara Subic Bay Properties Inc., eighth, with $699,137 for several leisure and recreational facilities; Tornwall Vex Corp., ninth, with $488,372 for the wholesale and retail of various electronic products, resins, steel and other related merchandise; and Green Expertise Allied Services, tenth, with $465,000 for the trading of hazardous waste, scrap materials and other related services.
The SBMA also said that because the biggest projects this year were mainly energy-related ventures, the utility sector has topped the field with total committed investments worth $738.5 million, displacing the manufacturing sector that came up with a $301.37-million tally.
The rise of Filipino investments over FDI this year marked the second time that locals outpaced imports here.
In 2009 as global economies toppled because of financial turmoil, Filipino companies made a total of 139 investment projects worth $96.22 million. This made up almost 56 percent of the $166.64-million total recorded that year.
Last year the SBMA approved a total of 155 projects that generated investment commitments worth $1.2 billion, of which 82 percent were FDI.
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By: Henry Empeno
Source: Business Mirror, Nov. 9, 2011
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