SPPI, Sojitz sign marketing services agreement on industrial estates

Science Park of the Philippines, Inc. (SPPI) and Sojitz Corporation (Sojitz) announced the signing of a Marketing Services Agreement (MSA) for collaboration in the business of industrial estates. The collaboration will initially start with Sojitz marketing to interna-tional companies primarily Japanese compa-nies specific industrial estates already devel- oped or under development by SPPI. Through the said activity, both parties intend to deepen the relationship for further collaboration in industrial estate businesses in Philippines.

SPPI is one of the Philippines’ leading indus-trial estate developers, with six locations in Laguna, Batangas, Bataan and Cebu, all of which are PEZA-registered. Its sister compa-ny, Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation, owns the first PEZA-registered IT Ecozone in Mindanao, located in its 360-hectare residen-tial cum commercial project in Cagayan de Oro. SPPI has a proud history of many firsts in the development of modern industrial parks. Its initial project, the Light Industry & Science Park I, was the first privately- owned Philip-pine industrial estate to achieve ISO 9901 and 14001 certifications, and all of its subsequent parks have similarly achieved this status. They also have OHSAS 18001 certification. SPPI has obtained numerous recognitions, such as PEZA Hall of Fame for Outstanding Environment and for Best Community Devel-opment, 1st Oscar Escobar Air Quality Man-agement award from the Concerned Citizens Against Pollution, and the Gawad Kalikasan Environmental Impact Assessment from the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environmental & Natural Resources Department of the Philippines.

Sojitz is one of the seven major Sogo Shoshas of Japan together with Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo and Toyota Tsusho. It was formed by a merger of two of Japan’s giant corporation. Nissho Iwai and Nichimen in 2004. Its net sales in the year ended March 31, 2017 amounted to about US$33.2 billion, with the profit of about US$391 million. The company has interests in a wide variety of fields, including automotive, aerospace and IT, chemicals, retails etc. More specifically to the MSA. Sojitz has a depart- ment dedicated to industrial estates development and marketing. Sojitz will initially market SPPI’s latest, leading edge industrial park, named Light Industry & Science Park IV (LISP IV), in Malvar, Batangas and Hermosa Ecozone Industrial Park (HEIP). LISP IV was masterplanned by Sasaki and Associates, a prominent firm headquartered in Massachusetts, U.S.A. and emphasis is being placed on being environmentally friendlty. The industrial park is envisioned to be part of a 250- hectare Malvar Cybergreen, which will include commercial, residential and institu- tional components.

HEIP is strategically located right in the middle of the country’s growth corridor of Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales and Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. It is connected via spur road to Dinalupihan Interchange of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) - the major link to Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Clark Special Econom-ic Zone. Its proximity to Subic and Clark, which are only 15 kilometers and 35 kilome-ters away, respectively, is significant for com-panies that wish to avail of Subic internation-al seaport and Clark Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.