Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go is “very optimistic” on the investment possibilities in store for Clark and the New Clark City.
A flagship project of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), New Clark City is positioned as a "very attractive" investment hub for certain sectors.
“These are the points that make Clark attractive as a destination: it offers the Clark Freeport Zone, the Clark International Airport, the Clark Global City, and New Clark City,” Go prefaced his talk during the recent One Clark Forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines with BCDA.
In promoting Clark as an ideal business destination and as a new economic hub in the Asia Pacific region, Secretary Go pushes for the CREATE MORE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy) bill “to strengthen the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, improve the ease of doing business, and to encourage investments in priority industries in the special economic and freeport zone.”
The CREATE MORE bill “will restore an economic ecozone providing VAT incentives and duty-free status to registered enterprises operating in the Clark Freeport Zone, as well as attract more locators to New Clark City.”
Go assured that “We are committed to shepherding CREATE MORE until it becomes a law. CREATE MORE will continue to encourage potential investors, particularly in the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries to locate and bring more jobs to Clark,” he added.
BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua Bingcang welcomes the national government’s support in the ongoing efforts towards developing and promoting New Clark City as a prime investment and tourism destination.
“As investments and economic affairs czar, Secretary Go has recognized the value of Clark as a catalyst of economic growth, and has been purposely and actively promoting Clark and New Clark City whenever he meets potential investors abroad,” Bingcang said.
By pump-priming the growth of economic opportunities in Central Luzon, Go and Bingcang alike affirm the importance of linkages and partnerships with various stakeholders, both in the public and private sectors.
“We would like to invite interested investors to come and see how New Clark City is developing as an investment hub for commerce, eco-tourism, and leisure,” Go said.
New Clark City is envisioned as the first smart, green, and resilient metropolis in the Philippines. Sustainably masterplanned, it is created not just for investors, but also for the surrounding communities as well.