San Miguel subsidiary, four other companies bag tax incentives from BoI

A NEW project of San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) shipping arm has qualified for tax perks along with four other companies’ planned business ventures worth a total of P326.3 million, the Board of Investments (BoI) said in a statement yesterday.

SMC Shipping and Lighterage Corp. will enjoy incentives such as income tax holidays and the duty-free importation of equipment for its P113.6-million operation of a Chinese-made barge to transport cement and coal, the government agency said.

The vessel, M/V Katarungan 2, will set sail starting next month and its operations will generate seven new jobs, the BoI said.

It is the firm’s eighth BoI-registered project.

The agency also granted fiscal and other incentives to four firms planning investments in industries ranging from tourism and food processing to garment and electronics manufacturing.

Among these is Gloria De Dapitan, Inc.’s P77.5-million expansion of an existing theme park in the city of Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte.

The development will add 5,100 square meters (sq. m.) to the 9,335-sq. m. park that began operating in May 2009. Commercial operations of the expansion will start in December and will employ 18 new workers.

The Tourism department had endorsed the Jalosjos-led company’s application to the investment agency, which is under the Department of Trade and Industry.

Jentec Storage, Inc. will meanwhile spend P120 million to construct and run a one-hectare cold storage facility that can hold 225 metric tons of farm crops.

The facility, which starts operations this month, seeks to serve food firms San Miguel, Bounty Fresh Foods, and Nestle Philippines, Inc., among others.

Two manufacturing projects likewise qualified for BoI incentives, the BoI said.

Exporter Feranti Shirt Factory, Inc. is sinking in P9.06 million to expand the annual production capacity of its Caloocan facility by roughly a tenth to 1.150-million pieces of garments.

Hardware Labs Performance Systems, Inc. for its part will be putting up a P6.14-million factory in Quezon City that will churn out “water blocks,” devices that cool electronics.

Production will be shipped to the United States, Europe and Japan starting next month, the BoI said.

The BoI, is aiming to increase investments pledges by a tenth to P136.592 billion this year after its 2009 tally was more than halved amid the global economic slump.

The government identifies economic activities entitled to tax and other incentives under the yearly Investment Priorities Plan. -- Jessica Anne D. Hermosa