P2.4 trillion targetted in RP marketing plan

A ROAD MAP to market the Philippines as an investment destination and accumulate P2.405 trillion worth of projects in the next five years was unveiled yesterday to guide the incoming administration.

Clark Development Corp. President and CEO Benigno N. Ricafort answers questions at yesterday’s launch of the first-ever Philippine Investment Promotions Plan. — Photo By Jonathan L. Cellona

The first ever “Philippine Investment Promotions Plan” seeks to lure new projects into the mining sector and seven other industries, officials said at the launch.

It targets a gradual increase in investment pledges, ending with P658 billion in 2014 or a doubling from 2009 levels. The plan also recommends harmonizing marketing efforts of 11 state agencies.

The scheme has a “level of permanency” even with the entry of a new government, Trade Secretary Jesli A. Lapus said, because the agencies involved will police each other and the Japanese government which funded the plan’s drafting will be monitoring implementation.

“Anybody who comes in will follow this blueprint especially as it is supported bilaterally and multilaterally,” Mr. Lapus said.

The plan recommends that marketing activities be shared by investment promotion agencies through joint road shows and uniform collaterals.

This should ensure that investors are referred to the suitable economic zone and are provided comprehensive information, said Benigno N. Ricafort, head of the technical working group and president of the Clark Development Corp.

“We have agreed among ourselves to work on sector-centered action plans whereby agencies with strong ties and background to a certain sector shall take the lead…” Mr. Ricafort said.

The key sectors were chosen based on prevailing government plans, their potential as shown by historical data, free trade agreements and plans of multinational companies, a presentation at the event by the Nomura Research Institute — the think tank hired for the plan’s drafting — showed.

The eight sectors, in the order of their expected share of the five-year cumulative target, are:

* mining (P681.47 billion);
* power, particularly renewables (P564.5 billion);
* shipbuilding (P440.45 billion);
* semiconductor manufacturing (P247.53 billion);
* agro-industry (P145.34 billion);
* business process outsourcing and information technology services (P131.42 billion);
* tourism (P103.08 billion); and
* logistics (P37.48 billion).

The actual total is P53.73 billion short of P2.405-trillion target. Officials could not be immediately reached to explain the discrepancy.

Aside from improved investment efforts, factors expected to lure projects into these industries include the natural and human resources available here, existing groundwork like laws and locational plans, and the Philippines’ reputation of competitiveness in these sectors, a briefing paper released to the media states.

The plan identifies countries from which such investments can be solicited. Mining investors, for instance, can be had from Japan and China.

The road map, which was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, also identifies sectors where investment efforts targetted at Japan should be focused: transportation parts and equipment manufacturing, iron and steel, and mining.

Nomura Research conceded at the event that “investment promotions are more or less dependent on investment incentives as well as… the investment climate in general.”

But a marketing plan will at least add to ongoing efforts and completed studies on the Philippines’ competitiveness, the think tank said. –JESSICA ANNE D. HERMOSA, Reporter, BUsinessworld