MSMEs to get positive boost with IPP approval

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu business leaders anticipate the approval of the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) to give small merchants a much needed boost.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte approved the 2017 IPP, which is aimed at providing incentives for the proper distribution of investments across the regions to attain inclusive growth.

"This will greatly help the MSMEs, as the government needs to give the right support to make small players more competitive," said Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president Glenn Soco.

BusinessWorld reported that Duterte and Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea signed the Memorandum Order No. 12 on February 28 directing all agencies to issue the necessary regulations to ensure the IPP’s implementation in a “synchronized and integrated manner.” The order will take effect on March 18.

Soco said the government should give local businesses equal attention to nurture a healthy and level playing field.

The 2017 IPP, which carries the theme “Scaling Up and Disbursing Opportunities,” is a list of priority investment activities that may be given incentives. The list was submitted by the Board of Investments (BoI) to Duterte on Dec. 29.

The preferred investment areas indicated in the new IPP are: manufacturing including agri-processing; agriculture, fishery and forestry; strategic services; infrastructure and logistics including local government unit public-private partnerships; health care services including drug rehabilitation; mass housing; inclusive business models; environment and climate change; innovation drivers; and energy.

Also deemed priorities are: export businesses including services, activities in support of exporters, and production and manufacture of export products; activities based on special laws that grant incentives like Republic Act (RA) No. 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, RA 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 and RA 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009, among others; and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

In a statement on Monday, BoI said the IPP is expected to generate more investment to strengthen “manufacturing resurgence” as targeted in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022.

The IPP’s foreword, signed by Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, who also heads the BoI as chairman, indicated departures from the 2014 IPP “with the inclusion of more MSME (micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises)-oriented, innovation-driven, health- and environment-conscious activities that look at expanding job opportunities for more segments of the population and bringing more firms into the local and global value chains.”

Moreover, the foreword read, “there is a deliberate policy to shift investments to the countryside.”

"Countryside development is the way to go in order to achieve inclusive growth and increase job creation," said Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Melanie Ng.

Ng added that this development is much anticipated as more MSMEs are expected to get good breaks. (FREEMAN)