Gov't to hold investment roadshows abroad

Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) Secretary Frederick Go on Monday said the government will hold investment roadshows abroad following the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE), according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

The CREATE MORE IRR was signed by Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque on Monday and witnessed by Go, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

Go said South Korea will be the roadshow's first stop next month, followed by the United States in April. There will also be roadshows in Japan, China, Europe, and the Middle East.

“So it’s useless to have a law and have IRR that nobody knows about, so our job now is to announce it to the world,” he said.

“Our responsibility is to let the investors know about CREATE MORE, how it will benefit them, how it will improve the ease of doing business, how it reduces the cost of doing business.”

The presidential adviser is optimistic that the IRR’s signing will sustain the strong investment approvals in 2024, which rose 33 percent to PHP1.95 trillion.

Go said the CREATE MORE does not only focus on attracting foreign investments but also to strengthen getting investments from local sources.

Early this month, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) received projects exceeding PHP50 billion for its approval.

Incentives for these projects will be under the CREATE MORE.

Go is also expecting that the country can attract more big-ticket projects with the signing of the IRR of this new law.

“The goal of CREATE MORE is really to generate investments, which is to generate jobs for Filipinos,” he said.