BAGUIO CITY -- The City
Planning Office reported last week that there are now 86 banks operating in
Baguio as of 2017.
“Data
from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas shows that four additional banks were
added to the 82 banks operating in the city in 2016,” CPO chief Evelyn Cayat
said. “This means that our banking systems remain sound and stable.”
Precy Quinto,
Landbank of the Philippine Baguio-Naguilian branch manager, said the
relationship between the existence of banks and the economic situation in a
particular place.
“Before a
bank decides to open a branch in a certain place, they conduct a study to
determine the feasibility of that branch prospering. If there is a lot of
economic activity, there is a lot of money that will require the services of
banks either for deposits, withdrawal, transfer, or even loan portfolios,”
Quinto said.
She said
banks operate where there is a robust economic activity hence, this spells out
why numerous banks and their branches open and operate in Baguio.
The city’s
tourism sector, Cayat said, exceeded its one-million-tourists target. There
were 1,521,748 million tourists in 2017 or a 17.5-percent hike from the
previous year’s record of 1.29 million. The tourism sector employed 2,943
workers in 2017.
Baguio
remains to be a tourist destination and has recently attained the status of a
weekend destination due to its proximity to Metro Manila and other regions of
the country.
Traditionally,
the number of visitors only peaks during the Panagbenga or flower festival,
Holy Week, and Christmas season.
Cayat noted
the hike in tourist arrivals had led to more business establishments opening in
the city.
She said that
as proof of the robust economy in the city, there were 24,494 business permits
issued in 2017, although 6,904 or 26.1 percent of these were special permits,
or for short-term economic activities.
Regular
business permits account for 73.9 percent of the total. These are those engaged
in retail and wholesale, real estate leasing, hotels, motels, inns, boarding
houses, transient houses, apartments, and the like; other services include call
centers, educational institutions, insurance, computer shops, restaurants,
coffee shops, eateries, fast foods, refreshments; real estate brokerage,
brokers, developers, general contractors; amusement facilities; and financial
institutions.
"The
gross sales reported from these businesses recorded an increase of 46.7
percent,” Cayat said. "These statistics demonstrate strong business
confidence, as more businesses are established within the city. More businesses
mean more investments and employment.”
Cayat said
business establishments and economic activities employed 103,650 people last
year, more than the 75,201 people employed in 2016.
She added
investments from new business establishments amounted to P1.33 billion in 2017,
an increase of 5 percent from P1.27 billion a year before.
The
construction industry also posted a positive increase in 2017, in both
government and private, Cayat said.
As for
private construction, there was an increase of 14.6 percent in the number of
building permits issued.
“This means
that there were activities in the construction of new and repairs of
residential, commercial, and institutional structures in the city,” Cayat
added.
Baguio is
host to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), with exports being
viewed as a major driver of economic growth.
Cayat said
PEZA-Baguio recorded a 16-percent rise in exports amounting to USD1.9 billion
in 2017 from only USD1.6 billion in 2016.
“Electronics
contribute the lion’s share of exports from the Baguio City Export Processing
Zone (BCEPZ), followed by transport equipment, IT companies, textile, wearing
apparel, and plastic production,” she added.
Baguio, she said, remains as a "show
window of the whole Cordillera," as it accounts for a big chunk of
economic activities of the region.
“The economic
performance (of the Cordillera) increased from an estimated P137 billion in
2016 to P153 billion in 2017, which corresponds to the region’s growth of 12.1
percent,” Cayat said.
Last year,
Cordillera posted the highest economic growth among all regions in the country,
followed by Davao region, which grew by 10.9 percent. Central Luzon came next
with 9.3 percent and Western Visayas with 8.4 percent. -- PNA
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