SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Subic sparked strong interest among businessmen and venture capitalists during a trade mission conducted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) until last week in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said in a February 16 report to President Duterte that the Subic agency successfully pushed the Subic Bay Freeport Zone as a sustainable and competitive business and industrial center in the Philippines during business meetings in Dubai from February 9 to 14.
“As a result, Subic has sparked strong investor interest in the fields of cargo logistics, renewable energy, aviation, vaccine manufacturing, and compliance solutions,” Eisma said in her report.
She said the SBMA team discussed business potentials in Subic with officials of Abu Dhabi Ports Company, a logistics operator and manager of industrial zones and ports in the UAE, and the Philippine Business Council of Dubai and Northern Emirates, which promotes cooperation among business communities in Dubai, the Northern Emirates and the Philippines.
Eisma said they also offered the Subic airport as an alternative hub for the UAE flag-carrier Emirates during a meeting with Orhan Abbas, the firm’s senior vice president for the Far East, in the hope of increasing the number of commercial flights from Dubai to the Philippines and vice versa.
The SBMA team, likewise, attended the Philippine Country Business Briefing headed by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez on February 11, and participated the following day in the Philippine National Day, which was attended by thousands of Filipinos in Dubai.
“We have high hopes that Subic got the attention of major industry members in the UAE, especially with the endorsement we received from the Philippine Business Council of Dubai and the Northern Emirates,” Eisma said on Tuesday.
SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Operations Ronnie Yambao, who joined Eisma in Dubai, said SBMA team had a productive meeting on February 9 with Suchit Kapoor, business director of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company, and Dogus Durhan, business manager of the Abu Dhabi Ports Group. This meeting tackled cargo expansion, integrated technology, and a business model design through partnership, Yambao said.
Next, Eisma met with Jon Salazar, founder and president of Gazelle Wind Power, a Dublin-based producer of hybrid floating offshore wind platform, for a possible project to drive Subic’s renewable energy program.
Eisma then went on to talk with Stephan Thomas, senior director and CFO of Group 42 (G42), an artificial intelligence and cloud computing firm, which is looking for partners for a joint venture to manufacture and distribute Covid-19 vaccines in the Philippine and the Southeast Asian region.
The SBMA team also met with Angeline Rivera, sales and marketing manager of Prime Group, a leading quality and compliance solutions provider in Asia, Middle East and Africa, which is considering Subic for its expansion program.
Lastly, Eisma coordinated promotion of the Subic Bay Freeport in the UAE with Prof. Gau G. Raganit, chairman of the Philippine Business Council of Dubai and Northern Emirates, which promotes trade among business communities in Dubai, the Northern Emirates and the Philippines.