Philippine Priority Sectors

The Philippines identifies the following sectors as priority for foreign investments under its Medium Term Development Plan:

• a. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services
• b. automotive
• c. electronics
• d. mining
• e. health care and wellness
• f. tourism
• g. shipbuilding
• h. fashion garments
• i. jewellery
• j. agribusiness
  

Hot Sectors for British Investors

The Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s has identified the following sectors as priority for attracting investments from the UK:

1. Mining

• The Philippines is rich in mineral resources particularly in gold and copper. The Mining Act of 1995 liberalized the mining industry by allowing the entry of foreign mining firms and by granting a package of incentives to investors.
  

2. Renewable Energy Sources

• The Philippines is aggressively pushing for the development of its indigenous renewable energy sources. Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the Government aims to exploit indigenous energy resources to reduce energy imports and eventually make the country self-sufficient in energy sources. Reforms are under way to encourage private sector participation and investments in the development of renewable energy. The passage of House Bill 1068, otherwise known as “An Act to Promote the Development, Utilization, and Commercialization of Renewable Energy Sources” is expected to speed up the development of renewable energy resources by giving fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to renewable energy developers.
  

3. BPO

• The Philippines is fast emerging as a favourite destination and hub in Asia for outsourcing of information and communication technology (ICT) and business process (BP) owing to its IT-trained, English-speaking, high quality and cost-effective workers and modern ICT infrastructure.
• The Philippine government grants incentives to outsourcing companies engaged in ICT. In addition, international connectivity, multi media infrastructure and deregulated telecommunications industry are in place to promote the Philippines as a top destination for business process outsourcing.
  

4. Tourism Infrastructure and Facilities

• The Philippine Government encourages foreign investment in tourism-related projects such as tourist accommodation facilities, tourism estates, historic-cultural heritage projects and tourist bus operations. Foreign investments on these projects are entitled to BOI incentives.