Japanese industrial park to double dividends for SBMA

Photo Courtesy of SBMA

By Percy Roxas

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Japanese developer partners at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) have agreed to double the dividend payments for the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), amounting to almost US$1-million, it was revealed by SBMA chief Jonathan D. Tan.

Tan said consensus came about during a STEP board meeting in Tokyo, Japan on Nov. 17, 2023.

STEP is a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the SBMA, Japan International Development Organization (JAIDO) and Toyo Construction Co. Ltd. (TOYO) that was executed in April 1996.

The JVA was executed for the planning, development, construction, operation and maintenance of STEP’s 74-hectare industrial estate inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

As agreed in the JV, SBMA will maintain the 49.97% share equity and Japanese developers, led by STEP President Ichiro Tsuji and his associates, will have 50.03% equity.

Tan said that last year, SBMA only received dividends of almost half million USD from STEP. This year, the agency stands to receive dividends in the amount of $999,333.64, Tan said.

Tan and SBMA director Kenneth G. Rementilla led the SBMA delegation that attended the Tokyo board meeting recently. The two represented the agency and are nominees to the STEP.

Meanwhile, Tsuji said that over the years, STEP has worked diligently to achieve its vision as evidenced by the presence of eight major Japanese locators and 10 smaller companies, collectively occupying more than 70% of the leasable areas within the industrial estate.

“This, in turn, has led to the employment of approximately 10,000 local and foreign workers, who significantly contribute to the growth of the local economy,” he added.

Companies inside STEP are now expanding their operations due to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (Create) law.

One of the companies, Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation, is set to generate employment from its P4.2-billion expansion project in this Freeport.

Nidec Subic president Takeshi Yamamoto said that the company’s expansion project is expected to generate close to 5,000 jobs until the last incentivized year as the Japanese manufacturing firm currently has a workforce of 622.

Japanese firm Sanyo Denki also held a groundbreaking for a 30-hectare complex for its US$10 million expansion of its computer parts manufacturing this year inside the STEP. Sanyo Denki is expected to hire additional 1,000 workers initially for the production of computer parts that are exported globally.