Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Cebu IT sector to boom with increase in IT parks
A boom in the information technology (IT) sector is expected to happen in Cebu with 10 upcoming IT zones located in the province.
While some of the companies with pending applications to become IT zones are still being developed, some establishments, like the Mango Square mall, are just waiting for the proclamation from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) on their IT zone status.
Mango Square said Peza has already issued a board resolution classifying the mall, located on Gen. Maxilom Ave., as an IT building.
“We are just waiting for the certification, which is the formal proclamation from Peza,” Mango Square operations manager Conrad Ding said.
He told Sun.Star Cebu that the mall, developed by Ludo and Luym Development Corp., has more than 2,000 square meters of contiguous space that it can immediately offer to prospective locators.
Mango Square is currently housing Xlibris, a company that offers book publishing as a consumer service. The mall is also in talks with two companies in IT-related businesses.
Meanwhile, JY Square IT Center has more than 3,000 square meters to offer to IT and IT-related companies, preferably call centers, in the JY Square Discovery Mall.
The company said it plans to build a five to seven-story building on the 4,000-square-meter lot within the 10,000-square-meter JY Square IT Center in Lahug, Cebu City. This building, an addition to the mall, will be devoted to call center operations.
JY Square Discovery Mall now has one call center locator, the Call Tek International.
Others
Other IT zones awaiting Peza proclamation include Keppel Center in the Cebu Business Park with a 29,434- square-meter floor area; Mira Nila Economic Zone in Barili, Cebu with a lot area of 3,030 hectares; Polambato-Bogo Economic Zone in Bogo, Cebu with a lot area of 41.71 hectares; Taft IT Park in Mandaue City with a floor area of 9,515 square meters; Arcenas Estate IT Building with a floor area of 5,241 square meters and Cebu Cybertown IT Park in Mactan with a lot area of 11.551 hectares.
Locators of IT parks enjoy tax perks, such as income tax holidays for four years for non-pioneer IT enterprises or six years for pioneer IT enterprises.
They also have the option to pay a special five percent tax on gross income earned in lieu of all national and local taxes, except real property taxes, on land owned by developers aside from being exempted from payment of import duties and taxes on imported machinery and equipment and raw materials.
On training expenses, IT park locators can charge 50 percent of their training expenses against the three percent share of the national government in the special five percent tax on gross income.
Foreign investors, who initially invest 150,000 on IT projects, will also be granted permanent resident status in the country. (JBN)
(August 23, 2005 issue)
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