Priority investments list due for submission to Palace next week

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will submit next week its list of investment areas eligible for government incentives, setting the direction of the incentives program for the next three years.

DTI Secretary and Board of Investments Chairman Ramon M. Lopez told reporters yesterday that the department is seeking approval from President Rodrigo R. Duterte for the next Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

“We will submit the IPP by next week,” he said in a briefing.

“We can’t say much until the President signs it. But we’re adding new areas and we are deleting some but unfortunately I can’t say that yet.”

The IPP 2017-2019 replaces the current plan, due to expire at the end of the year.

The next set of preferred investments will introduce new priorities such as the creation of drug rehabilitation centers, a component of the current war on drugs. According to Mr. Lopez, the IPP will also incentivize inclusive business models.

“We will still develop the guidelines to properly implement such an incentive scheme,” he said.

By way of example, he said the government may reward companies sourcing from small and medium- sized enterprises ( SMEs) or cooperatives.

The Board of Investments has said that the preferred activities for the 2017 IPP may include manufacturing, agribusiness, services, research and development, technological innovations, infrastructure and logistics, inclusive business projects and climate change-related projects. This list, however, is not yet final.

In the IPP 2014-2016 guidelines, the preferred businesses were manufacturing, agribusiness and fishery, services, economic and low- cost housing, hospitals, energy, public infrastructure and logistics, and public-private partnership projects.