Posted on 09:24 PM, November 22, 2010 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
SM Development Corp. and six other firms have bagged tax breaks for P6.291 billion worth of projects ranging from property development to steel bar manufacturing, the Board of Investments (BoI) said on its Web site.
Sy-led SM Development accounted for the bulk of the figure with its P3.112-billion condominium project.
The 35-storey development dubbed Sun Residence Tower 1 will rise on a 5,916-square-meter (sq. m.) lot on España Boulevard in Manila and will have 2,057 units, the agency said.
Operations will start next month and 457 workers will be employed, the BoI added.
Under the 2010 Investment Promotions Plan, mass-housing projects are among the business activities eligible for income tax holidays, duty-free importation of equipment, and other incentives.
The BoI also granted tax perks to another major investment pledge: Harbour Industrial Development Corp.’s P1.948-billion steel bar factory in Panabo, Davao del Norte.
The factory will churn out up to 400,000 metric tons of steel bars a year once it comes on stream in January 2012, the BoI said.
The steel manufacturer will obtain billets from Steelasia Manufacturing Corp. and employ 218 workers, the state agency added.
Another investment into the heavy industry sector -- a battery lead recycling plant -- was likewise awarded incentives.
Evergreen Environmental Resources, Inc. is spending P802.44 million to put up the facility in Sta. Maria, Bulacan which starts operations this month, the BoI said.
The factory will process used car batteries to produce pure lead and lead alloys to supply exporter Philippine Batteries, Inc. and local distributor Motolite Marketing Corp.
Two more property developments also qualified for incentives.
Oakridge Properties, Inc., a unit of JTKC Realty Corp., bagged tax perks for the P360-million renovation of the Discovery Suites in Pasig.
The investment will go into refurbishing the 42-storey hotel’s 220 guest rooms and other amenities. It will be completed by November 2012, the BoI said. The project, endorsed by the Tourism department, will employ 244 workers.
A P27.068-million mass housing project of Central Luzon Basic Homes, Inc. in Guiguinto, Bulacan also bagged tax perks.
The developer is building 75 units this month on a 5,365-sq. m. project dubbed Ylang Ylang Homes. The project will generate 60 jobs.
The BoI went on to grant tax perks to Global Food Solutions, Inc.’s P34.7-million fish and fruit processing and packaging plant in San Pablo, Laguna which will employ 275 workers.
Ninety percent of its output will be shipped out to the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe via client Gem Foods International, Inc. starting next month.
Japanese-owned car label printer Tsuchiya Kogyo Philippines, Inc. also bagged incentives for the P6.8-million expansion of its factory in Taguig.
The investment will boost the facility’s current 28-million-piece annual production capacity by roughly a third, the BoI said.
The state agency has so far registered P35.9 billion worth of investment pledges in the three quarters ending September, a 64.4% improvement from year-ago levels according to latest official data.
The BoI and other investment promotion agencies will have to net P345.40 billion worth of projects by the yearend to meet commitments made under the Philippine Investment Promotions Plan. -- Jessica Anne D. Hermosa
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