THE Board of Investments (BOI) has brought down to seven from 13 its target priorities for its preferred investments list.
This is to achieve a more “focused and specific” Investment Priorities Plan for 2014.
Philip T. Torres, BOI Central Visayas officer-in-charge, said yesterday that the Investments Priorities Plan 2014 (IPP 2014) aims to support activities that generate employment and foster studies for new ventures or expand existing industries, raise productivity by upgrading technology and developing clusters, and identify and develop markets to enable participation in the global and regional network.
Torres was one of the BOI speakers at the IPP 2013 general consultation at the Harold’s Hotel.
The target priorities include specific sectors of manufacturing like four-wheel motor vehicles assembly, engineered products, chemicals, copper wire rod, paper pulp and tool and die; and agribusiness and fisheries.
“We also have services which include IC design, ship repair, specific testing facilities, charging stations for e-vehicles because we are encouraging investments on this, industrial waste treatment and maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft,” said BOI executive director for industry development Corazon Dichiosa.
On the mass housing side, they specifically included low-cost and economic housing in both vertical or horizontal projects.
Energy investments including exploration and development of energy sources and power generation plants.
The sixth in the list is the public infrastructure and logistics including airports and seaports, newly-purchased ships, aircraft, seaplanes and Ro-Ro boats.
“For importation of boats, buses and trains for mass transport, we give duty-free incentives.” she said.
PPP or projects under the government’s Public-Private Partnerships will also be given tax holidays as part of the projects and activities under the preferred list.
In the exports activities, they will give tax holidays to those into production and manufacturing of export products, services exports including the business process outsourcing sector and activities that support exports.
Dichiosa said that some of those sectors no longer in the list were transferred to the exports list like the creative industries and knowledge-based services and ship building.
Changes
Those stricken from the list include Research and Development, Green Projects, Strategic Projects, Hospital or Medical Services, Iron and Steel and Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Recovery Projects.
“Some of the items we de-listed were those that we think will have to be reviewed if inclusion in the IPP is the way to encourage more investments or another assistance,” she said.
Dichiosa added that the IPP 2014 is also based on industry road maps that are developed by industry players and includes their concerns and goals. / With Xavier University Intern Kent A. Ugalde