MEETING OF MINDS. Stakeholders share their outlook and insights into strategies for economic development, investment promotions, and sustainable growth during the First Batangas Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Conference at LIMA Park Hotel, Lipa City-Malvar, Batangas on Thursday (Nov. 23, 2023). Attending the forum are (from left) Deputy Local Economic Development and Investment officer Medel Salazar, Board of Investments Director Maria Rosario Dominguez, Philippine Economic Zone Authority Division Manager for Domestic Investments Promotions Services Ludwig Daza, Provincial Administrator of Batangas Wilfredo Racelis, and first vice president and head of external affairs at Aboitiz InfraCapital Christopher Camba. (Photo courtesy of Aboitiz InfraCapital)
MALVAR, Batangas – Private and public entities engaged in developing an industrial park here have agreed that the path towards success involves jointly promoting and attracting foreign direct investments to the province.
This was gleaned after representatives of the Batangas provincial government, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Board of Investments (BOI), Aboitiz InfraCapital, and others met during the First Batangas Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Conference held at the LIMA Park Hotel, situated at the nexus of Lipa City and Malvar town.
During the event on Thursday, stakeholders individually laid out their respective strategies for economic development, investment promotions, and sustainable growth, with the objective of strengthening the economic landscape of Batangas.
Ludwig Daza, who heads PEZA’s Ecozone Development Department, said in a statement that “the Philippines targets to be an investment haven in Asia.”
He explained that to bring this about, his agency encourages the private sector to develop, maintain and operate economic zones at no cost to PEZA or the government.
Daza pointed out during his presentation that the government offers attractive incentives to entice investors under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
Maria Rosario Dominguez, director of the BOI Domestic Investments Promotion Service, reported that the CREATE law offers a long menu of incentives.
These include four- to seven-year income tax holidays; 5 percent Special Corporate Income Tax based on Gross Income Earned (in lieu of all national and local taxes); duty exemption on importation of capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts, or accessories; and value-added tax (VAT) exemption on importation and VAT zero-rating on local purchases.
She explained that Tier 1 businesses, which are the most preferred investments, “are those with high potential for job creation and that generates value creation through innovation, upgrading, moving up the value chain.”
During the conference, the management of Aboitiz InfraCapital, the developer of LIMA Estates in Batangas, disclosed it is expanding even further away from Metro Manila with a planned development in Tarlac City.
The planned economic estate follows the recent acquisition of a total of 200 hectares by its wholly-owned subsidiary, LIMA Land Inc., from Luisita Land, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Azucarera de Tarlac. (PNA)
