Subic Bay Yacht Club, located in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone on the Philippines coastline west of Clark, has held a soft opening for its new boutique casino.

The casino forms a central feature of the newly renovated Yacht Club which, at a cost of Php500 million (US$10 million) for the renovation, is targeting Asia’s growing yachting and boating community.

“Subic is a safe haven in the boating world, and we have mega-yachts coming in on a weekly and monthly basis to use Subic Bay as their base,” said Manuel Antonio Sequeira, CEO and President of Volare Grandezza – one of the partner firms in the property’s casino operations.

“We have everything from Russian mega-yachts measuring 200 meters and above to mega-ships coming in from China – the smallest being 3,800 people and the biggest 5,200 guests, which is a huge market.

“So we saw an opportunity that this Yacht Club would be a great base to host a casino. We are positioning ourselves very much as a boutique casino, and we are only the second yacht club in the world to have a casino after Hobart (Australia).”

The new casino, offering impressive views of the serenity of Subic Bay, opened on Monday with eight tables and 169 slot machines but expects to have 43 gaming tables in operation by 1 December, offering roulette, pai gow, baccarat, blackjack and pontoon.

In-house junket operations will launch from January 2020 and there are also longer term plans to work with international junket operators from across Asia.

One of only two casinos within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Subic Bay Yacht Club enjoys the same tax benefits as nearby Clark Freeport Zone and sees itself as a unique alternative to the growing casino industry in Clark, whose primary target market is Koreans looking for a golfing getaway.

Subic offers three golf courses of its own and is just 45 minutes from Clark by car, but also sees its waterside location as a competitive advantage.

“The growing market in Asia of people boating, yachting, will bring people here,” Sequeira told Inside Asian Gaming.

“The fishing here is fantastic and just 20 minutes out by boat out we have coves which you will drool over with pristine sands, unreachable by road, a 2km beach with nobody else around and clear, clean water. It’s something we can produce that nobody else can.”

Reference : Inside Asian Gaming

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British life insurer Pru Life UK, represented by its Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Marketing Officer Allan Tumbaga (right) formally turned over 100 bikes to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), headed by its Chairman Atty. Wilma Eisma, as part of its initiative to promote cycling across the country and encourage more people to choose an environment-friendly means of transportation.

During the signing of the Deed of Donation, Atty. Eisma said that the bikes will be distributed to respective SBMA departments for official use.

SBMA hosted the 2019 edition of the annual cycling festival PRUridePH in May. With over 2,500 participants coming over to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, it is the biggest cycling festival in the country. After this successful partnership, Pru Life UK looks forward to SBMA’s support in their future WeDO Health endeavors.

Mr. Tumbaga says that Subic was the perfect venue for PRUridePH 2019 as its environment and transport system are conducive to cycling. “The handing over of bikes is our sign of gratitude and support to SBMA’s mission of growing an environmentally sustainable Freeport community,” he adds. “We hope that this partnership will encourage more people to preserve the environment and choose a healthy habit by promoting cycling.”

*(Images used on this article are owned by PruLife UK Philippines)

Reference : PruLife UK Philippines

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CLARK FREEPORT — North Philippines Tourism and Travel Expo themed “Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future For All”, is set to launch on November 15 until November 17 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at the Event Centre in SM City Clark in Clark Freeport Zone.

Tourism has been considered as one of the most important sectors providing vast opportunities for economic growth and is fundamental in generating employment, boosting industry revenues, developing infrastructures, improving the Philippine brand of image, and increasing foreign exchange earnings.

The tourism industry is vital for the benefits it brings and due to its role as a commercial activity that creates demand and growth for many more industries.

It not only contributes towards more economic activities but also produces more employment, revenues, and even plays a substantial role in holistic socio-economic development.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) regional offices in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) together with the private sector united together in creating the North Philippines Tourism and Travel Expo (North Phil Expo).

For years, DOT partnered with the Association of Tourism Officers of Central Luzon (ATOCEL) and the Philippine Exhibitions and Trade Corporation (Petco) in organizing this travel show that has been boosting the tourism sector of the different regions of the country.

Included in what has become the largest tourism and travel show in the North are tourism exhibits and special events.

There will be a showcase of tourism and travel destinations, Philippine provincial pavilions, corporate and trader booths, tourism estates and properties showcase, corporate game shows, cultural presentations, and crafts and arts demonstrations.

In addition to the usual, and in partnership with Pampanga Agents Travel Society (PATS), contestants from different schools in Northern Luzon will be participating in the North Phil Expo Quiz Bee Challenge.

This feature excites both contenders and viewers as it aims to magnify the importance of knowing the historical, cultural, and tourism aspects of North Philippines.

North Phil Expo is the longest running travel trade because of the partnership of government and private sectors.

The expo is supported by the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Clark Development Corporation, Philippine Retirement Authority, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corporation, Cebu Pacific Air, Business Mirror, Punto Central Luzon, and SunStar Pampanga. 

Reference : Sunstar

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(UPDATED November 6, 2019 to reflect FedEx clarification that while it is returning to the Philippines via Clark after a decade’s absence, it is not abandoning its hub in China)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – FedEx, the American multinational courier, is returning to the Philippines after a decade’s absence, this time setting up stakes in Clark Freeport, one of two major United States military bases until 1991, Manila’s top diplomat in the US said.

The logistics giant stressed in a press statement in Manila, however, that while it was returning to the Philippines, it is not abandoning its hub in China.

From Subic – the other major former US base in the Philippines — FedEx had relocated its operations to Guangzhou, China in 2009, reportedly due to the limited space in the former American naval base, which had constricted its ability to expand.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez told visiting journalists here that FedEx is one of the American companies that have expressed interest in going back to the Philippines amid the US-China trade war.

FedEx made it clear, though, it will not move out of China, when it sets up stakes in Clark.

“FedEx is not relocating and has no plans to relocate its Asia Pacific Hub,” FedEx said in a statement sent to the BusinessMirror, to clarify a story published on November 6. Any implication or impression “that FedEx is relocating its Asian Hub to the Philippines and is moving out of China . . . is unequivocally incorrect,” it added.

“Our planned operations in Clark will enable us to better serve our customers in the Philippines and are part of our ongoing expansion throughout the Asia Pacific region as our business continues to grow,” it added.

In its statement on Wednesday, the global courier said, “FedEx is committed to the Asia Pacific region, including our customers and employees in both China and the Philippines, and we continue to consider opportunities and make strategic investments to expand our service, enhance our network and provide greater global connectivity.”

According to Romualdez, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief executive officer Vivencio Dizon is set to announce the return of FedEx “but on a much bigger scale” at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga soon.

 “So FedEx is going to be operating, it’s gonna be a big hub in Clark. So that is a big win for us and hopefully that would be the magnet that will make other companies start looking at the Philippines.”

The American logistics giant gained foothold in the country through the launch of the FedEx AsiaOne intra-Asia service with the opening of the Subic Bay hub in 1995.

Subic boasts of an international airport touted to have superior features, having been built for US military aircraft during the decades-long lease by Washington of the bases at Subic and Clark.

In 2005, FedEx announced that it was abandoning its Asia Pacific hub at the Subic Bay Freeport and special economic zone in Zambales. It announced the transfer to the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China with a total investment of $150 million. The pullout from the Philippines was completed in June 2009.

In his talk with Filipino reporters in Washington earlier, Romualdez had said, “Now they are moving out of China. I am not sure what the reason is. but I assume it has something to do with the trade war or it is part of their strategy that they see that the Philippines is the center in Asia.” He added said US President Donald Trump has described the Philippines as “the most valuable real estate in Asia” because of its strategic location, at the center of its Asian neighbors.

“Geographically, we are the best place to be located. But really, the biggest obstacle is the economic barrier that should be seriously looked into,” Romualdez said, adding his voice to the push among some quarters to review the 60-40 equity restriction for foreign businesses in the 1987 Constitution.

Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga, economic affairs minister at the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C., said the interim site of the planned FedEx hub in Asia Pacific would be completed in the second quarter of 2020.

Gonzaga said the long-term and bigger site is scheduled to be operational in 2024.

Aside from FedEx, Romualdez said Cargill Inc. and Procter & Gamble have increased their investments in the country.

In November 2018, Cargill announced it was pouring $235 million to grow its business in the Philippines over the next two years. The amount will finance the expansion of its animal feed and nutrition business and agricultural supply chain businesses, and at the same time support the growth of C-Joy to deliver on increasing consumer demand for the chicken.

Reference: Business Mirror

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Filipinos are paying it forward this time.

Almost five months after a Vietnamese boat rescued 22 Filipino fishermen whose vessel was rammed and sunk by a Chinese ship in Recto Bank (Reed Bank), a community here came to help 160 Vietnamese fishermen in distress.

Four fishing vessels carrying the Vietnamese were forced to seek shelter at Subic Bay on Thursday due to bad weather in the West Philippine Sea, according to Olongapo City Mayor Rolen Paulino Jr.

Paulino said the Vietnamese encountered rough seas and strong winds while at sea and had to take refuge in the nearest harbor.

The Philippine Coast Guard and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority sent out a team to escort the Vietnamese fishermen to the bay area.

The fishermen arrived safely at Barangay Kalaklan in Olongapo City where they were welcomed by villagers who offered them food and water.

“They don’t speak English so we had a hard time communicating with them,” village councilor, Gracia Osio-Oraa, told the Inquirer.

Oraa said the fishermen appeared “tired, hungry and thirsty” and had to stay in the bay area for three hours before sailing back to the open sea.

Various local groups and government offices also gave the stranded Vietnamese food and medicine, Oraa said.

On June 9, a Chinese vessel that rammed and sank a Filipino fishing boat in the Recto Bank abandoned the Filipino crew. Vietnamese fishermen rescued and fed them.

Reference: Philippine Daily Inquirer

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