BOI: Cebu posts P2.7B investments in January-July

CEBU, Philippines - The Board of Investments (BOI) registered P2.7 billion worth of investments in Cebu from January to July this year. Most of the projects registered in the seven-month period were mass housing. Based on the official data furnished by the agency, it registered six mass housing projects, one manufacturing, one shipping, three solar power projects, and one tourism accommodation facility located in Siquijor province. The mass housing developments are located in Talisay City, Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City and municipality of Liloan. Moreover, the solar power projects are located in Cebu City and municipality of Consolacion; the manufacturing project is in Mandaue City; while the shipping project is in Cebu City. These projects were expected to generate a total of 1,460 jobs. In an interview on Thursday, Philip Torres of BOI-Cebu said that on the initial list, they expect to register another four mass housing projects in Cebu and two agri-related projects in Negros Oriental and Occidental within the year. These projects, he said, would cumulatively worth "billions of pesos." Torres said the agency continued to register a number of mass housing developments as there is continued demand in the market particularly in the economic and socialized housing segment. "The backlog in housing is in economic segment," he said. He added he hopes to see more manufacturing-related projects to be registered by the agency as these will create more jobs. Total cost of projects registered in the first half this year was, however, lower compared to P25.4 billion worth of investments registered in the same period last year, which was mainly due to a big-ticket project, a P16.8-billion transportation and storage project, by GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., Mactan Airport's private operator. The Central Visayas economy remained as one of the fastest growing in the country, posting a P525-billion gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2016, which translates to a growth rate of 8.8 percent. Meanwhile, Executive Order (EO) No. 22 — which reduced the rates of duty on capital equipment, spare parts and accessories imported by BOI-registered new and expanding enterprises — replaced EO 70, which expired last May 9, 2017. It is effective for five years or until a law amending EO 226 (s. 1987), or the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987, is enacted. The measure also augurs well for the agency’s 2017 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), which encourages more innovation-driven and job-generating investment projects. Under the executive order, which was signed on April 28, qualified business enterprises registered with the BOI are exempt from paying duties when they acquire from other countries capital equipment classified under specific chapters of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines. The duty exemption, however, will be granted only after the BOI issues a certificate of authority to the importer. The agency said the privilege strictly applies to equipment not manufactured locally or of insufficient supply domestically. The equipment should also be for the exclusive use of the registered company. BOI is the government's main investment arm that registers projects qualified for fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as, but not limited to, tax holidays, duty-free importation of capital equipment, and employment of foreign nationals. (FREEMAN)