Bataan Freeport lures in investments from Poland

The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) has entered into an agreement with the Lódź Regional Development Agency (LRDA) of Poland for a partnership toward the promotion and development of trade and commerce.

AFAB chairman and administrator Emmanuel Pineda said both parties have recently signed memorandum of understanding which is expected to lure more Polish investors to the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB).

“Hopefully, this MOU is the start of a very important partnership. The support of the Lódź Regional Development Agency will help in assuring the investors from Poland and the region that they will have partners toward success when they locate to FAB,” Pineda said.

Under the agreement, the two agencies vowed to cooperate closely to establish strong and prospective business relations.

The AFAB, for its part, assured the international agency that it would assist all entrepreneurs from the region of Lódź in locating to the FAB and the Philippines.

LRDA president Przemyslaw Andrzejak, meanwhile, said the partnership with the AFAB is a welcome development, as it would help the entrepreneurs from the region of Lódź in having business contacts in the Philippines.

Andrzejak said industries of interest among Polish firms include of food and beverage, pharmaceutical, construction, chemical, bio-economy, housing, expansion areas, renewable energy and transportation.

The AFAB and LRDA are set to organize and hold business missions, meetings, and seminars focused on the possible cooperation opportunities as part of the agreement signed.

The FAB is known as one of the fashion manufacturing hubs of the Philippines, as it possesses a budding cluster of companies producing high- end brands of garments, apparel, shoes, and accessories.

A total 114 locators were registered in the freeport as of last year. These include Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, American, Japanese, British, Bahrainese, French and German businesses.

From 2010 to April this year, the total investment pledges approved by the agency reached P107 billion.

Pineda, who was appointed as chairman and administrator of the agency by President Duterte on Oct. 10, is looking to expand the FAB during his term as he expects approved investment commitments in the economic zone to double in the next six years.