The Board of Investments will start today a series of consultations on the new Investment Priorities Plan that will focus on supporting the resurgence of the manufacturing sector.
BoI executive director for industry development services Corazon Halili-Dichosa said the new IPP covering 2017-2019 would identify more industries in the manufacturing sector and allied services.
“There is an indication to consider mostly manufacturing industries but that doesn’t mean that we will delist some of the listed activities. We will also consider value adding to manufacturing activities as possible candidates for IPP,” she said.
The current IPP is more specific on economic activities without any preference for a particular industry or sector.
The new IPP will review about 40 sectoral roadmaps, including services.
Of the total industry roadmaps, about 32 are ready for implementation while eight still need encouragement in terms of fical incentives.
For sectors or industries that have a bigger mass of players like housing, consultations will be done through sectoral meetings, while those that have small number of stakeholders will be included in public consultation.
The BoI noted that among those listed in the current IPP, the copper and virgin pulp sectors were the only sectors without any registered investments, a situation that may compel the government to delist them.
Dichosa said technical working groups had identified possible problems within a sector that could not be remedied by incentives.
“Whether the constraints identified under the roadmap are something that can be solved through incentives or by other measures like policy, administrative measures, we will still find out through consultations and deliberations,” said Dichosa.
Manufacturing, aviation, aerospace, agribusiness, housing, creatives, services and the health sector are several of the sectors that will continue to be included in the new IPP.
The BoI every year receives recommendations or proposed changes from government agencies and the private sector in the list of sectors and economic activities that are eligible for fiscal incentives under the IPP.
The IPP is the country’s blueprint for investment promotions and a platform to attract strategic investments with impact on countryside development and employment generation.
The BoI plans to conclude all public and sectoral consultations by June 2016.
The industry services division expects to come up with the first IPP draft by May 2016 and finalize the program by December for submission to the new administration on January 2017.