NEWSFLASH

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SUBIC EXPORTS TO HIT $1-BILLION

Subic Freeport, Jan. 2, 1998 - Export sales for 1997 at the Subic Freeport are expected to nearly double, reaching $1 billion from the 1996 total of $502.87 million.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority said yesterday that the jump is due to the recent opening and expansion of high-end manufacturing giants such as Taiwan-based computer corporation Acer and British cable-maker BICC.

Subic, a former US Navy base, is one of the country's two freeport zones. It offers tax and tariff exemptions to industrial and tourism investors, and is positioning itself as the region's next information technology center.

Cumulative investments in Subic peaked at $2.6 billion in the freeport's four years of operation.