CLARK Development Corp. (CDC) said it hopes to increase exports by 40% this year after a record rise in 2017.
CDC President and Chief Executive Officer Noel F. Manankil said the 2018 projection would outstrip 2017 export growth of 35% to P6.87 billion, led by shipments of semiconductors.
On the investment front, CDC set a target of doubling 2017 levels in five years, with a focus on tourism and manufacturing enterprises.
Some 54 additional locators were registered in 2017, bringing the total to 949.
For this year, the CDC is also looking at doubling its capital expenditure to P2 billion which will be exhausted on road and infrastructure improvements, a bigger program compared with the P1-billion road expansion efforts it took up last year.
In a statement on Monday, CDC said it posted record net profit in 2016 and 2017 worth a combined P1.81 billion, about 38% of the accumulated net profit of CDC since its incorporation 25 years ago.
Mr. Manankil said CDC’s performance was due to “the sound investment climate and economic policies of the Duterte administration.”
Asked whether the proposed changes in the tax incentive system is deterring investors from Clark, Mr. Manankil, in an interview on Monday, said investors “know that government will always come up with packages that are competitive.”
The government hopes to make Clark “the next big metropolis,” implementing vital infrastructure projects that will bolster economic activity in Central and Northern Luzon.
These include the expansion of the Clark International Airport, the construction of a railway between Metro Manila and Clark and the cargo rail link between Clark and Subic Freeport. — Janina C. Lim

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