Investments in ARMM beat 2016 target

COTABATO CITY - The Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) –Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) still managed to hit by 235% its investment target of 900 million for the year. This happened despite uncertainties in 2016 brought about by the synchronized national and local elections and the rise in armed violence by criminal and insurgent gangs in the region and some parts of Mindanao. In a statement made by lawyer Ishak V. Mastura, Chairman of RBOI, he said that this 2016, RBOI has registered total investments of P2.11 billion due to the approval of the P1.3 billion palm oil plantation development project of the Gintong Agri Corporation and the 8 MW diesel power plant project of Kaltimex Rural Energy Corporation worth P811 million. Since 2013 to the present, the agency has registered a sum of P14 billion worth of investments project in the region. ARMM has been consistent in attracting investments of at least Php1 billion per year, Mastura further stated. The two companies are expected to employ 1,034 workers. Other than establishing their power plant in Tawi-Tawi, Kaltimex plans to expand their electrification project in Basilan and Sulu to ease the lack of power supply in the island provinces.Critical to the poverty alleviation role of private sector investments is their interests in addressing power shortages in the off-grid areas of the region particularly its island provinces.Without electric power the economic conditions of the island provinces will be hard to improve. RBOI included energy related projects in the 2017 ARMM List of Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).Through the IPP, RBOI will be able to facilitate the granting of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to companies investing in power generating projects in ARMM.The agency has submitted to the DTI-National the ARMM List of the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) to be incorporated in the National IPP for the signing and approval of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte this January 2017. At present, around 50% of investments in the ARMM are agri-based and the bulk of this is located in the Province of Maguindanao.This reflects also that agriculture and fishery is the region’s largest economic contributor in the GRDP which is 58.5% (PSA 2015). About 25% of the total investments in ARMM are in the energy and petroleum sectors while 15% is in mining and quarrying industry. The remaining 10% is combined investments in the housing, woodworks and trading industries. ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said that he is optimistic that with President Duterte, a Mindanaon, he would give more focus on the peace and development of the region, so more investors will come and invest in the ARMM. We already have laid down the grounds for good governance and other interventions needed such as infrastructure support so businesses will thrive in the region, Hataman further said.