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Six Taiwanese investors on Tuesday expressed their
intention to put up a shoe manufacturing plant in Marikina City
because of growing labor costs and more strict policies in the
People’s Republic of China.
In a statement, the Marikina city
government said the investors from Taiwan’s footwear industry
visited the country for a trade mission recently.
The delegation was composed of
several officers of the Taiwan Footwear Manufacturers Association,
namely: Lin Chao Chieh, president; Kung Fan Zion, secretary-general;
Huang Pei Fang, secretary; and several of its members, Lee Chin
Shan, Yeh Chao Ming and Hsiao Yu Hsien.
They accepted the invitation of
Chairman Tomas Alcantara of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office
to study possible investments in the country.
In an interview, Mayor Marides
Fernando of Marikina City said that with the growing labor cost and
stricter policies in China, the Taiwanese footwear manufacturers are
seriously looking at other Asian countries to relocate several of
their factories.
She said that since Marikina is
known as the “shoe capital of the Philippines,” the investors
spent a day touring the city looking at shoe factories, scouting for
properties that they could lease and even business partners that
they could venture with.
Fernando briefed the investors
about the prospects of setting up a business in the city,
enumerating Marikina’s competitive edge.
“They got impressed with the
city’s track record of being efficient and business-friendly,”
Fernando said.
She added that the Taiwanese
investors have shown keen interest in making Marikina the future
home of their shoe businesses.
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