The government is expecting to generate P2.4T worth of investments in the next five years with the launching of the five-year Philippine Investments Promotion Plan (PIPP) which harmonizes all the investment promotion activities of the 11 government investment promotion agencies (IPAs).

Covering the period 2011-2014, the PIPP will serve as the roadmap for all the IPAs to synchronize strategies in investment promotion. It specifies roles and action plans in carrying out IPAs’ promotional efforts.

The IPAs agreed to work on achieving investment growth of 10% in 2010, 15% in 2011-2012, and 20% in 2013-2014.

The plan aims to more than double the current investment approvals to P658B at the end of 2014 or an accumulated P2.4T in five years.

Investments generated by the government’s IPAs in 2009 reached P315.3B from P473.3B in 2008.

The PIPP is positioning the Philippines to become one of the core investment destinations in Southeast Asia in the eight targeted sectors. 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.

Aside from improved investment efforts, factors expected to lure projects into these industries include the natural and human resources available locally, existing groundwork like laws and locational plans, and the country’s competitiveness in these sectors.

An integral component of the PIPP is the Japan Investment Market Strategy, which specifies strategic approaches for the IPAs to generate more direct investments from Japan, the country’s top source of foreign investments today.

In the manufacturing sector, the strategy calls for Japanese investments in transportation parts industry like battery manufacturers of hybrid and electric vehicles. The plan has also identified big four Japanese iron and steel manufacturers such as Nippon Steel, JFE, Sumitomo Steel, and Kobe Steel.

The plan recommends that marketing activities be shared by IPAs through joint road shows and uniform collateral materials to ensure that investors are referred to the suitable economic zone and are provided comprehensive information.

(Philippine Business Report - August 2010)