Clark Development Corp. (CDC) said over the weekend investments reached $5.5 billion in the first half of 2023 from varied industries including several electric vehicle (EV) and related projects.
CDC president and chief executive Agnes Devanadera said locators started expanding, with many renewing leases while others starting projects that were stalled when the pandemic hit.
“We have facilitated $5.5 billion in the first semester. Last year was really low, we were still in pandemic. Many companies are expanding and we are expecting more projects since we have the lowest power rate in all economic zones in the Philippines. That alone is a big come on,” Devanadera said in an interview at the sidelines of the recently concluded 49th Philippine Business Conference and Expo (PBC&E) at the Manila Hotel.
She said Royce Hotel and Casino added P1 billion in investments in the first half for expansion and improvement of amenities, bringing its total investments to P10 billion. Royce is an all-Filipino venture in leisure and entertainment.
Devanadera said revenues were also in the upswing, posting 43 percent in incremental output from the same period in 2022. CDC is looking at doubling revenues by end-December 2023.
She said the huge increment was unexpected as the corporation did not set any target for revenue generation.
Meanwhile, remittances to national government amounted to P1.2 billion as of May 2023. CDC aims to increase its remittance to P1.5 billion in 2024.
“We remit half of our net income to the national government, and the other half we reinvest in our infrastructures. We don’t get support for the national government,” Devanadera said.
The agency is hosting 1,113 business locators with employment of 136,836, according to August figures released by CDC.