Located within 2 1/2-hour drive, 55-minute boat ride or a 25-minute helicopter flight from Manila, the Authority Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) is situated at the crossroads of international shipping routes between the West Coast of North America, the Far East and Southeast Asia. Its strategic location also includes proximity to lucrative overseas markets such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and the People’s Republic of China. It offers technology businesses competitive incentives, freeport services, and other special privileges which have been recently enhanced under Republic Act No. 11453 approved on August 30, 2019.
AFAB is set to establish an exclusive digital asset exchange and financial platform to cater to the needs of its international client and operator base.
In line with this, AFAB has exclusively approved the operation of iWave Advanced Research Group (iWave). iWave is a subsidiary of DFNN, a publicly traded company at the Philippine Stock Exchange. iWave specializes in financial, banking, and capital market solutions offered especially to institutional accounts.
iWave’s digital asset exchange, GT.Exchange (GTX), is set to launch in the second quarter of 2021.
GTX, in partnership with AFAB shall enable issuers and operators to do the following:
First, businesses or projects may raise capital by listing at GTX and Oz accessing both centralized and decentralized exchanges throughout the world.
Second, operators may avail of immediate credit allowing them the funds needed to sustain the growth of their business.
Third, operators may earn yield on their digital assets under GTX management; thereby providing additional sources of income to the enterprise.
Among the 5,400 ecozones throughout the world, AFAB needs to distinguish itself and stand out. AFAB’s intent is to position itself as the gold standard among all the other economic zones. By establishing a centralized and decentralized digital asset exchange in an ecozone, GTX aims to solve the systemic credit and capital problems that all businesses are faced with. In the end, all projects regardless of size or geographical stratum may access the same benefits.
“We are confident that this partnership will equip our operators with the resources they need to sustain and upscale their businesses while positioning AFAB as a viable center of the Global Financial Inclusion Revolution” said Engr. Pineda, the administrator of AFAB.
For more information about the zone, visit afab.gov.ph.