NCR IT Park Registration Freeze Lifted, Expected to Attract High-Value Investments

FINANCE SECRETARY Frederick D. Go said the government’s exemption of IT parks and centers from the ban on economic zone (ecozone) registrations in Metro Manila will support the government’s broader goal of attracting high-value investment in key industries like information technology-business process management (IT-BPM). In a statement on Thursday, Mr. Go was quoted as saying that Administrative Order (AO) No. 45, which restores the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) authority to establish IT centers and IT parks in Metro Manila, will serve as “a strategic enabler for attracting high-value, innovation-driven investments by allowing businesses to locate where talent, infrastructure, and established industry ecosystems are most developed.” In a separate statement, PEZA said the end of the moratorium will enable it to respond to IT-BPM locators’ evolving requirements. “AO 45 is a major policy breakthrough that strengthens our ability to compete for the next wave of IT-BPM, global capability centers, and other technology-enabled investments,” PEZA Director-General Tereso O. Panga said. The order also supports the agency’s plans to explore new IT-BPM markets like Australia and Japan. PEZA noted that five IT parks and centers in Metro Manila have pending ecozone registration applications. These include MJ Landtrade Development Corp.’s Altaire in Makati City; Triumvirate Development Corp.’s One Trium Tower in Muntinlupa City; Ayala Land, Inc.’s ARCA South 1 in Taguig City; Aseana Holdings, Inc.’s Parqal in Parañaque City; and San Lorenzo Ruiz Investment Holdings and Services, Inc.’s The Yuchengco Centre in Makati City. PEZA clarified that developers of these IT Parks and IT Centers will not be entitled to fiscal incentives pursuant to PEZA Board Resolution No. 00-411, as amended. However, qualified IT-BPM enterprises locating in these buildings may still avail of the applicable incentives under existing laws, rules, and regulations, it said. “The policy is intended to expand the supply of PEZA-registered locations for eligible IT-BPM locator enterprises without extending additional incentives to property developers,” PEZA said. Citing property consultancy Colliers Philippines, PEZA noted that 44% of available PEZA office space in Metro Manila is already considered ageing. “AO 45 allows us to replenish and modernize the pipeline of PEZA-ready spaces in Metro Manila and ensure that the country can meet the increasingly sophisticated requirements of new and expanding IT-BPM investors,” Mr. Panga said. To date, the country has 178 IT parks and centers in Metro Manila, hosting 1,072 locator companies, PEZA said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz