Mid-year ARMM investments grows 100% w/ P3-B telco project

COTABATO CITY -- The Regional Board of Investments of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM) today released the figures for its registered investments for the first half of the year. This was a result of its recent mid-year assessment and report.The figures show that registered investments in the ARMM have exceeded by 100 percentthe Php1.3 billion mid-year investments registered in 2016.At this time 2017, the RBOI has already registered Php3.65 billion, which is more than 100 percentthat of mid-year 2016.RBOI has registered three investment projects for 2017. First was the Php32 million fish processing and cold storage project of Abing Seafoods and Cold Storage located in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi addressing the needs of fisher folks in the province to process, store and preserve their seafood catch.Second was the Php 33.5 million cargo-shipping project of J. Sayang Shipping Lines, Inc. also based in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi to be used for inter-island trade, as well as, cross-border shipping with Sabah, Malaysia.Lastly, RBOI just approved the Php3 billion telecommunications carrier project of TierOne Communications International, Inc. (TierOne) for ARMM.The company intends to eventually cover all ARMM areas with its investment of US$60 million or Php 3 billion with provision for expansion and infusion of additional capital as needed.It will provide cellular service in 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, broadband wireless internet to homes and enterprises, and WiFi for public or common areas.With the fastest internet service of 3,000 kB/s download speeds, it will provide coverage for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services.It will be using the latest technology such as fiber optics and satellite relay with international gateway facility.The company is 70% owned by Filipinos and 30% owned by Australians.It obtained a franchise to operate as a telecommunications service provider from the Regional Legislative Assembly of the ARMM a few years back.Lawyer Ishak Mastura, RBOI chairman and managing head, expects that there will be more investments coming in and registering with RBOI for 2017. Despite the Marawi crisis, the investment prospects of ARMM continues to show signs of resilience and dynamism because the crisis area has effectively been contained by the government, said Mastura. We expect banana plantation investments in Maguindanao to continue with hundreds of millions worth to be registered this year with RBOI, he said. There is a port services project worth Php100 million, a bulk water treatment project worth around Php200 million, and a Cacao plantation project that will pour in Php1 billion, all of which will hopefully be registered this year , he added. RBOI provides fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to ARMM investors, who avail of their services and register with them.