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SUBIC
BAY FREEPORT—Exports here rose to $416 million in the
first six months of the year, buoyed by shipments of
electronics and precision equipment, and delivery of the
first Subic-made container vessel.
The
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said the
free-port zone’s overall exports for the first half
increased by $1.5 million a year earlier, while the
month-on-month comparative figures grew for only three
months.
Delivery
of the 41,000-ton MV Argolikos, the first container ship
built by Korea’s Hanjin Heavy Industries
Corp.-Philippines, likely saved the free-port zone from
posting a contraction in the value of exports by its
locators.
According to SBMA records, Wistron Infocomm Phils.
consistently surged as the leading exporter here since
January, until it was upstaged in June by Hanjin Heavy
with its $59.5-million ship export.
The
Argolikos was apparently entered in the books last month
after the vessel passed its sea trials, although it was
formally named only on July 4.
Still,
Wistron delivered the biggest freight-on-board (FOB)
value here with total exports of $142 million, or more
than 34 percent of the total.
The
Taiwanese computer manufacturer registered $23.7 million
worth of monthly exports on average, despite a global
slowdown that saw Philippine electronics exports slip by
3.8 percent in the first five months.
Hanjin
Heavy, which accounts for less than 15 percent of
aggregate exports for the first half, was a distant
second, although it delivered more than half of the
$107.3-million total for June.
Also in
the list of Subic’s top 10 export producers in
January-June were three Taiwanese manufacturers, four
Japanese electronics companies and a Hong Kong firm
trading in mobile phones and accessories. These are the
Hitachi Terminals Mechatronics Phils. Corp. (Taiwan),
with $41.9 million; Sanyo Denki Phils. (Japan), $38.4
million; Lets Do Mobile Phils. (Hong Kong), $20.4
million; Juken Sangyo Corp. (Japan), $17.2 million; Tong
Lung Metals Inc. (Taiwan), $11.9 million; Hitachi Air
Conditioning Products Inc. (Taiwan), $10.6 million;
Nidec Subic Phils. (Japan), $8.3 million; and Nicera
Philippines Inc. (Japan), with $7.4 million.
Almost
88 percent of the FOB value for the first half were
contributed by the top 10 exporters, the SBMA said.
Meanwhile, SBMA records also show that business locators
here imported a total of $1.1 billion in the first half,
or 27.7 percent more than the $854.2 million a year
earlier.
The 10
heaviest importers were led by PTT Philippines Trading
Corp., with total imports of oil and petroleum-based
products worth $278.4 million.
Shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy and its sister firm Hanjin
Heavy Industries & Construction Co., which is developing
the facilities at its Redondo Peninsula shipyard here,
came in second and third with corresponding imports of
$169.5 million and $119.1 million, respectively.
Also on
the SBMA list were Lets Do Mobile, with imports of
$111.4 million; Wistron, with $101.5 million; Tri-Solid
Movers Services Inc.—which also deals in oil and
petroleum products—with $38.5 million; Sanyo Denki,
$21.3 million; Hitachi Terminals, $20.7 million;
Honeywell Ceasa (Subic Bay) Co. Inc., $16.5 million; and
Juken Sangyo, $12.9 million.
The top
10 importers here also hogged the bulk of imports, with
about 82 percent of the total, the SBMA said.
At the
same time, the SBMA Seaport Department reported that
port revenues in the first six months surpassed the
target by 2.26 percent.
Seaport
revenues, derived mainly from charges against calling
vessels, including wharfage and storage fees, totaled
P114.5 million in the first half. This represented a
growth of 10.9 percent from P103.2 million a year
earlier, the SBMA said. |
