HOUSTON, Texas, U.S.A — The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) is leading an investment mission to the United States from October 24 to October 30 and to Canada from November 2 to 6 to pitch its Casiguran-based ecozone as an investment destination for defense-related industries, clean energy, and data center projects.
APECO President and CEO Usec. Gil G. Taway IV will head the delegation and engage investors through a series of investment briefings, site visits, and government-to-business meetings in Texas, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. in the US; and in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary in Canada.
During the mission, APECO intends to highlight the advantages of investing in the 12,923-hectare Pacific-facing ecozone and the expanded fiscal and non-fiscal incentives provided under the CREATE MORE Act.
The highly-targeted meetings are envisioned to bring in private investors that can support its plans to transform Aurora as the Philippines’ gateway to the Pacific.
“As a Pacific-facing ecozone, we can be a reliable investment location for investors looking to establish presence in the Philippines, access the broader region, and take advantage of the two major economies’ multimillion-dollar Indo-Pacific strategies,” Usec. Taway said.
“This mission will allow us to meet prospective American and Canadian investors and develop future projects that benefit the strategic but still untapped Aurora,” he added.
In its U.S. leg, the outbound mission will follow through on APECO’s initial talks with American firms, including defense company Anglicotech Llc and global consulting firm Valent; and conduct a roundtable discussion with the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce of Texas and a networking reception with the US-Philippines Society hosted by Planate Management Group.
The investment promotion agency (IPA) will also sign deals on a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) power generation and substation facilities in the zone as well as defense-related economic activities in APECO.
APECO is in close coordination with the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Washington D.C., and the Philippine Consulate General in Houston, Texas for its outbound mission to the US.
In Canada, the delegation will then hold the investment briefings in Montreal and Calgary on November 2 and 5, respectively.
Around 100 business executives and representatives in infrastructure, energy, mining, critical minerals, defense, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics, among others are expected to attend the two events.
APECO’s investment briefings in Canada are in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, the Philippine Consulate General in Calgary, and the PTIC in Toronto.
Global tax policy expert and founder of Asian Consulting Group Mr. Mon Abrea will also join the IPA during the two investment briefings, promoting the Philippines and APECO as an investment destination.
APECO’s public and private sector partners for organizing the events in Canada include the Government of Alberta, Calgary Economic Development, Fasken, and HEC Montreal Entrepreneurship Hub.
“We see strong opportunities to build partnerships with American and Canadian businesses, who have the resources, technology and established expertise to drive the zone’s growth and development,” the APECO chief said.
“The US and Canada both place greater focus on creating an open and more connected Indo-Pacific and have been increasing investments in infrastructure and clean energy to make supply chains in the region more resilient. This opens up opportunities for us to introduce what APECO and its strategic investment location has to offer,” he added.
APECO is situated on the eastern seaboard of the country, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, making it ideal for locators looking for sites with direct maritime access to major markets across the globe, including the US, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand.
It also acts as a complementary node for the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) and caters to investors eyeing alternative locations outside the main western routes of the trilateral initiative being undertaken by the Philippines, US, and Japan.
