Aquino approves 2014 Investment Priorities Plan

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MANILA – President Aquino has approved the long-awaited 2014 Investment Priorities Plan which includes the list of eight preferred sectors eligible for fiscal and non-fiscal incentives in the next three years.

Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. confirmed in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the President has already signed the IPP last month.

He noted, however that Malacañang has not yet issued a public copy of the list.

“The Office of the President will publish (the 2014 IPP) anytime now. We will present the IPP on Friday (during a public consultation),” Cristobal said.

This year’s IPP is aiming to “clearly target investment opportunities and needs to fill gaps in the supply or value chain; boost sectors with latent or obvious competitive advantage; and offset market imperfections.”

It is also eyed as a “tool for industrial development and economic growth and consists of specific economic activities that—based on industry studies, plans and road maps—are strategic or critical to advance a particular industry or improve the product’s value chain.”

According to the Department of Trade and Industry on Wednesday, the key industries included in the list are manufacturing; agribusiness and fishery; services; economic and low-coast housing; hospitals; energy; public infrastructure and logistics; and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

Last year, the IPP contained agriculture/agribusiness and fishery; creative industries/knowledge-based services; shipbuilding; mass housing; iron and steel; energy; infrastructure; research and development; green projects; motor vehicles; strategic projects; hospital/medical services; and disaster prevention, and mitigation and recovery projects.