Foreign business groups seen upbeat on Region 9

MANILA, Philippines—Foreign investors are taking renewed interest in the Zamboanga Peninsula, where they are considering tapping business opportunities in power, oil refinery, pharmaceutical, education, knowledge process outsourcing and infrastructure.

These groups are particularly keen on locating in the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority.

Christopher Lawrence S. Arnuco, chair and administrator of the ecozone, said the 16 members of a business delegation from India, headed by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries, had expressed interest in either setting up a facility or teaming up with existing locators at the Zamboanga ecozone.

According to Arnuco, the prospective Indian investors include Ivory Education Pvt. Ltd., which is interested in education; Jobships.com, which is planning to put up an office for seafarers; Huechem Textiles Pvt. Ltd., garments; International Professional Financial Careers Academy Pvt. Ltd.; and Ozzy Business Consulting Ltd., which is into the exportation of lemon grass oil.

“The visiting Indian delegation wants to explore the promised growth of the Philippine economy and of the region. Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) is one of the fastest-growing regions in the Philippines. In 2011, it grew by only 1 percent but in the following year, 2012, the region posted a 12.4-percent growth. We contribute much to national growth,” Arnuco said.

“These Indian companies are not just looking to serve the Zamboanga or Mindanao market but they are also looking at tapping the 60 million population in the growth polygon known as the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga),” he said.

Investors, Arnuco added, are also attracted to locating to the 15,800-hectare Zamboanga ecozone given its “rock bottom” lease rates of P8.50 per square meter per month for the so-called “lowlands” and P3,500 per hectare per year for the highlands, equivalent to about 30 centavos per square meter per year. Of the total area in the ecozone, 15,000 hectares in the highlands are conducive for agro industries like coffee, cacao, bamboo, abaca and rubber plantations.