Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno promoted the Philippines’ competitive investment ecosystem to the Indonesian business community during the Philippine Investment and Financial Briefing on Aug. 23, 2023 at the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“To help foster the development of high quality, modern, and sustainable infrastructure in the country, we wasted no time in building a fertile business and investment ecosystem for private players,” Diokno said in his keynote message.
Diokno said the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is intent on pursuing high-impact investments in public infrastructure, digitalization and human capital development for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
He said to make the country’s policy environment conducive to impactful public-private partnerships, the government revised the implementing rules and regulations of the Build-Operate-Transfer Law to strengthen the financial viability and bankability of PPP projects.
The government also improved the Investment Coordination Committee guidelines on PPP approvals to ensure faster processing and approval of PPPs and enhanced the National Economic and Development Authority joint venture guidelines to align with the revised IRR of the BOT Law and the proposed PPP Act.
The PPP Act, which is pending in the Senate, consolidates all legal frameworks on PPP and creates a unified system for investors to refer to when engaging in PPP projects.
Apart from the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Foreign Investments Act and Public Service Act and the opening of the renewable energy sector to full foreign ownership, the government rationalized and redesigned the country’s corporate income tax structure and incentives system.
The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Law offers qualified business activities and projects a menu of generous and flexible fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, while ensuring that the grant of these incentives is performance-based, time-bound, targeted and transparent.
Diokno outlined the qualified industries and projects under the 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan which presents a tiered approach to incentives.
Tier 1 includes all activities under the 2020 Investment Priorities Plan while Tier 2 includes activities that fill the gaps in the value chain and are import-competing. Tier 3 includes those that support the accelerated transformation of the economy through innovation.
He said the Marcos administration rolled out the implementation of Green Lanes for Strategic Investments through Executive Order No. 18 to expedite government processing of licenses and permits for critical investment projects aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
“This will directly improve the ease of doing business in the country by expediting and streamlining the processes and requirements for strategic investments,” Diokno said.
President Marcos recently signed into law the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023––the Philippines’ first sovereign investment fund that will serve as a platform for investors to engage in direct equity investments in Philippine ventures, as well as the 197 Infrastructure Flagship Projects approved by the NEDA board.
Diokno will represent the Philippines in the 10th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting from Aug. 24 to 25.