After peace deal, ARMM investments soar

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Reforms, good governance plus the signing of a final peace deal is their equation for peace and progress.

The government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) announced that for the first 5 months of the year, investments in the region reached P1.621 billion, exceeding the P1.463 billion total for the whole of last year.

Regional Board of Investments (RBOI)-ARMM chairman Ishak Mastura believes that the recent signing of the final peace deal drove investments in the region.

“Investors view this peace agreement as a removal of the major risk of flare-up of violent political conflict and insurgency in the region,” he said. (READ: Bizmen on Mindanao’s dev’t: We must do our part)

Mastura said RBOI-ARMM recently approved the application of Agumil Philippines Inc. to operate a P170-million oil palm kernel crushing plant in the town of Buluan in Maguindanao.

Agumil, a Filipino-Malaysian company, is also operating an oil palm mill, which has a milling capacity of 45 tons per hour, in the same town.

The company’s recent investment is expected to provide jobs for over 550 people.

RBOI-ARMM shared Agumil was also expected to establish a biomass power plant in the area for their milling and crushing plants.

The surplus power generated from the biomass plant will be sold to the Mindanao grid to help provide a stable power supply on the island.

“Agumil will be provided by RBOI with Income Tax Holidays (ITH) for 6 years at the start of their commercial operations and other fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the company’s socio-economic contributions to the development of the region,” the RBOI-ARMM said.

Aside from Agumil, RBOI-ARMM said other investors were also coming in. Lamsan Power Corporation is shelling out P921.56 million in biomass energy investments; SR Languyan Mining Corporation is spending P520 million for a nickel ore mining project; and ABSCOR Multi-Trading Company is putting up a P10 million import-export business.

With the current rate of investments coming, ARMM projects investments this year to hit a record of at least P2 billion.

“We are bullish that investments in ARMM will exceed P2 billion this year for the first time as a result,” Mastura said.

For his part, ARMM regional governor Mujiv Hataman is urging investors to trust the reforms started by the current administration.

Hataman explained that the efforts of the regional government were their contribution in ensuring the success of the peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

He said they would maximize their time and resources before a new political entity is crafted to promote an investor-friendly environment in the region.

“We are spending heavily in government infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and ports in order to make it easy for investors to bring their products to the market, not only locally but even abroad,” Hataman said. – Rappler.com