Revenue collected by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority jumped more than triple to P706.51 million last year, an affirmation that Ceza’s venture into financial technology (fintech) is paying off.

The Ceza on Thursday reported its revenue in 2018 reached P706.51 million, from P233.06 million in 2017. The figure is the agency’s all time high in terms of total revenues collected.

Further, investments committed to the Ceza for the whole of last year peaked $8.13 billion, which the agency attributed to the influx of registrations from fintech firms.

Processing fees made up more than half of the revenues, as collection leapt to P476.31 million from just P1.16 million. On the other hand, income from licensing fees fell 8.56 percent to P189.59 million, from P207.36 million.

Lease paid by locators in the Cagayan economic zone was the third largest source of revenue for the Ceza last year, as it improved 22.09 percent to P11.33 million, from P9.28 million in 2017.

Ceza Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Raul L. Lambino is expected to carry on with his investment strategy of turning the economic zone into a fintech hub this year. Moreover, he is planning to transform a portion of the area into a new satellite city that will feature tourism and entertainment projects.

The Ceza has a pending $4.5 billion joint venture with Italian firm Mercurio Design Lab and Singaporean Longrunn Capital Pte. Ltd. on the putting up an integrated city in Cagayan.

Construction will begin this year, and the 500 hectare project could be inaugurated in early 2021 if financier Longrunn will not be bugged by any delays. The integrated city will feature resorts, hotels, golf courses, theme parks, retirement village, private villas, condominiums, among others.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/ceza-tripled-revenue-to-p706-51-million-in-2018/