Clark Freeport lures $1-B new investments

By Ding Cervantes (The Philippine Star) Updated February 25, 2017 – 12:00am http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/02/25/1675429/clark-freeport-lures-1-b-new-investments CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – The Clark Development Corp. has announced 71 lease agreements with investors who have committed over $1 billion worth of investments in the freeport in the next 10 years. In its annual report, the CDC said the agreements signed in 2016 led to an increase in the number of freeport investors to 895, or six percent higher than the previous year. CDC President and CEO Noel  Manankil attributed the “uptrend in investments to the unperturbed confidence of foreign and local investors in the Philippines and this Freeport.” He noted  the “entry of more firms engaged in commercial businesses which represent 32 percent of the total number of Clark enterprises.” “ICT firms represent 24 percent of the locators while 23 percent are in the service sector inside this Freeport, “ he also said. Manankil said “the steady increase of locators started in 2009 when CDC recorded 449 locators, 464 in 2010, 537 in 2011, 606 in 2012, 679 in 2013, and 750 in 2014.” He cited a CDC report showing that “$923 million was committed by new investors with direct lease agreements with CDC while subleases and those with memorandum of agreement have committed $97 million in investment. In 2015, signed direct leases committed $303 million while the subleases and MOA had only committed investment of $50 million or a total of $353 million, the report said.