Bataan freeport area factories. Photo by Ernie Esconde
MARIVELES, Bataan — The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan has opened its doors for the registration of offshore financial technology companies utilizing blockchain or other emerging technologies.
AFAB administrator Emmanuel Pineda on Friday said they have engaged the expertise of Grand Innovasia Concept Corp. (GICC) and its partner, Impero Consortium Management Corp., as its marketing arm and internal auditor for companies interested in acquiring offshore blockchain financial technology services (OBFTS) licenses from AFAB.
“These are steps to attract emerging digital economies through blockchain, distributed ledgers and financial technology solutions,” Pineda said.
Blockchain is a system that makes digital record of transactions.
As a service provider, GICC-Impero evaluates, processes, verifies, and endorses all applications to engage in and operate OBFTS business activities within the FAB in Mariveles.
“The collaboration is also responsible in ensuring the faithful compliance and monitoring of all transactions undertaken by the offshore licensees,” he added.
Pineda said AFAB also expects an influx of new registrants that will be processed through GICC-Impero as the AFAB completed its recent registration of iWave Advanced Research Group, Inc. (iWAR) as a new FAB enterprise.
iWAR is set to provide a global trading exchange (GlobalTradeX) platform, that will ease access and will enable trade in international financial markets by offshore investors and traders.
“With this development, AFAB is optimistic that many offshore companies will be securing OBFTS licenses from it, subject to the required probity check and evaluation of GICC-Impero and to the establishment of service agreements of such companies with their AFAB registered service providers located within the FAB,” Pineda said.
He noted that the stringent evaluation and due diligence set in place by AFAB through GICC-Impero ensures that all interested parties that are looking into starting up or expanding into OBFTS have access to a complete suite of services covering the whole spectrum from registration to operational support, access to foreign capital markets and trading.
“Having all these capabilities to facilitate blockchain business activities and financial technology solutions, the future of digital capital markets will soon be a reality in the FAB,” the administrator said.
AFAB senior information officer Karen Padaoan said these are in full exercise of AFAB’s strengthened agency powers and functions. All of these developments are legally possible by virtue of RA11453 known as “An Act Further Strengthening the Powers and Functions of the Freeport of Bataan,” which amended AFAB’s Charter under RA 9728, she said.
“A section of the law provides that the FAB shall be developed into and operated as a decentralized, self–reliant and self–sustaining industrial, commercial–trading, research and development, engineering, medical, education, information and communications technology,” Padaoan said.
AFAB information officer Hazel Keith Ellorin said these include emerging and future technologies such as artificial technology, blockchain, business process outsourcing, cloud computing, cybersecurity, distributed ledger technology, financial technology solutions, internet of things, and virtual reality, retirement and healthcare services, agro-industrial, and investment center
“This is further articulated in the implementing rules and regulations of the law on the regulatory and administrative powers of the AFAB relative to these blockchain and emerging technologies,” Ellorin said.
