Investments in ARMM remain buoyant

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, March 9 (PIA) --- Investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) remain buoyant despite recent security concerns in certain areas of Maguindanao province.

The ARMM’s Regional Board of Investment (RBOI) said two companies based in the island town of Panglima Sugala in Tawi-Tawi registered a total of P863 million worth of new projects with the region’s investment board in the first quarter of this year.

The two companies are the Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading Corporation and the Chan C Mining.

The Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading Corporation is into the importation and distribution of petroleum products while Chan C Mining is engaged in mining and quarrying of nickel ore exported to China.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, RBOI chair, said there are also pipelined projects in other parts of the region that include an expansion of capacity biomass power plant, rehabilitation of a starch factory, expansion of banana plantation, and construction of an oil depot.

Accordingly, strings of projects are also in the pipeline this year for Maguindanao, which includes a P1.3 billion palm oil plantation and a P2 billion banana plantation.

Jun Macalawan, RBOI supervising investment specialist, said the incident in Mamasapano and the ongoing joint law enforcement operation of the police and military in parts of Maguindanao have not discouraged foreign and local investors from expanding their businesses in the region.

He said their trust in the good governance initiatives of the present ARMM administration and in the ongoing peace process are the main reasons for their confidence in the region’s economy.

In 2014, ARMM generated more than P3- billion worth of investments, at least 400 percent of its target of P700 million for that year. (Bureau of Public Information-ARMM/APB/PIA-10

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