European courier urged to put up hub in Subic
THE GOVERNMENT IS WOOing a European courier service firm to put up shop in Subic as the scheduled transfer of Federal Express’ Asian hub from the freeport to China nears.
An official privy to the matter said authorities had invited the company to visit possible sites in Subic and assess opportunities for a hub of operations here through their respective distribution network. The official declined to name the firm, saying it might get turned off with the premature publicity.
With American firms Fedex operating a hub in Subic and UPS in Clark special economic zone, the country is hosting half of the four biggest package delivery and supply chain service providers in the world.
The remaining two are Netherlands-headquartered TNT NV and Germany’s DHL International, both of which already have presence here.
At the same time, Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said the government was still trying to convince Fedex to keep its hub in the Philippines.
“We have met with Fedex officials in the United States and we asked them to at least maintain their presence in the country,” Favila said.
He added that Fedex had announced plans to put up back office support operations as well as customs clearance and billing services in the Philippines.
Early last year, Fedex announced it was putting up a new Asia-Pacific hub in China and would no longer renew its contract with Subic when it expires in 2008.
