Chinese pipe firm signs 25-year lease at Clark freeport

Officials of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) in the Philippines announced that a Chinese metal pipe company, HLD Clark Metal Pipe Co., is set to invest more than US$35 million in a metal pipe fabrication plant inside this freeport. CDC President Benigno Ricafort said the state-run firm, a subsidiary of Huludao City Steel Pipe Industrial Co. Ltd., has signed a 25-year lease agreement. The firm specializes in high frequency straight line welding pipes used as casing pipes for petroleum products. The project will be the first of its kind in Clark and among the biggest industrial investors there. (August 14, 2009)