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TAIWANESE firms infused a total of $782.3 million in
investments in the country in 2007 and have already
committed to expand their operations here in the next
years, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco)
reported Monday.
Antonio
Basilio, Meco managing director and resident
representative, said the fresh Taiwanese investments
covered 17 projects, including power, manufacturing,
business-process outsourcing and mining.
“The
Taiwanese firms planned to increase their investments
after initial operations in the country and step up
recruitment for their labor pools to match their
expansion thrusts,” Basilio said in a statement.
For
instance, the Multi-Tek Fasteners & Parts Manufacturer
Corp. at the Clark Freeport Zone, with a start-up
capital of $5 million in its first year of operations
and an initial 300 workers, will increase its
investments to $30 million and labor pool to 1,000
workers within five years.
Basilio
said another big investor, Mega-Tsung Mining Corp. in
Paracale, Camarines Sur, whose estimated project cost
for the first year is $6 million and with a labor pool
of 300 to 500, will ramp up its investment to $12
million in the third year of its operations.
Also,
Fwu Kuang Enterprises Co. Ltd. at the Clark Freeport
Zone, which had an initial investment of $5 million,
will expand its manufacturing facility for socket
head-cap screws in three years with another $5 million.
The
other new Taiwanese investors that have committed to
expand their operations here are:
Taiwan
Active Carbon Industry Co. Ltd. (Subic Bay Freeport
Zone), to increase current $700,000 investment to $1.5
million over the next two years; and
Taifish
Aqua Inc. (Cebu), a trading company and
hatchery specializing in grouper and tiger prawn fries,
will hike its hatchery-facility investments to $500,000
from the current $320,000; and
E-Dracond
Co. Ltd. (Taguig, Metro Manila ), to expand its
380-square-meter shrimp-processing plant in Taguig at a
cost of $250,000 to $400,000 this year.
The
other Taiwanese investment projects that came in last
year are those of:
Tong
Lung Metal Industry Corp. (Subic Bay Freeport).
It expanded its existing manufacturing plant in
Subic to three hectares with fresh investments of $12 million;
Formosa
Heavy Industries (Toledo, Cebu). FHI will invest $700
million in two power projects (246-megawatt coal-fired
plant in
Toledo,
Cebu, and 140-MW coal-fired plant in La Paz, Iloilo)
under a joint-venture agreement with Global Business
Power Corp.;
Mei Tail
Luggage Inc. ($3.55 million, manufacturing); Taiwan
Resibon Abrasive Products Co. Ltd. An abrasive-tools
manufacturing, a leading manufacturer and exporter of
resinoid abrasive products. It expanded its Subic
facility with fresh investments of $2 million for
“Tailin” brand abrasive products;
Eva Care
Group. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Evergreen
International Group. Eva Care owns and operates over 20
hospitals and health- care facilities in Southern
California. It manufactures, distributes and sells
hospital supplies and equipment mainly from its
production base in Taiwan and China. Eva Care set up a
$2-million, 100-seat call center in RP to handle
hospital administration, customer service and
human-resource management;
RayShine
Photonics Co. (Subic Bay Free Port Zone). The first
phase will be devoted to LED (light-emitting diodes)
modification activities and will require an investment
infusion of $2 million;
Medtecs
International Corp. Ltd. (Mariveles,
Bataan). It expanded its presence in the
Philippines in July 2007 with $2-million investment in a
coal-boiler project in Mariveles, Bataan; and
South
Forest Co. Ltd. (San Francisco, Agusan del Sur). Its investment in the
Philippines in the first two years is valued at $2
million, and Gou Chang Co. Ltd. ($1.2 million,
construction). |
