The Department of Finance, or DoF, said the government has approved four public-private partnership or PPP projects amounting to P212.8 billion and is looking forward to securing investment from a Qatar-based cooling equipment manufacturer.

DoF shared the data on the PPP projects with over 70 executives of Qatar-based firms and industry associations who attended the economic team's investor briefing at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar last Friday.

"We believe that the Philippines' moment has arrived. We look forward to jumpstarting the conversation today and exploring exciting investment opportunities with the Middle East business community in the coming years," DoF Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

In its statement on Monday, DoF said approvals for more PPPs with foreign firms have been faster through liberal policies established by the previous Duterte administration and being improved by the current Marcos administration, including the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, Investment Coordination Committee Guidelines, and Joint Venture Guidelines by the National Economic and Development Authority.

PPP Act under review

To streamline all policies related to PPPs, DoF said lawmakers at the Senate are now evaluating the proposed Public-Private Partnership Act.

For other investment measures, Diokno also discussed with the Qatar business community the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or CREATE.

"CREATE provides a 40-year tax incentive package for highly desirable projects or activities with a capital investment of at least $900 million or those that can create at least 10,000 jobs," he explained.

Diokno stressed this law also makes the tax system "performance-based, timebound, targeted, and transparent."

DoF said the Philippine economic team is also discussing plans with a Qatar cooling equipment manufacturer for its plant construction in the Southeast Asian country.

Aside from this, the Philippine economic team sat down with executives from Qatar Insurance Company, the largest insurance company in the Arab region, and the Qatar National Bank, the largest financial institution in the Middle East country.

Qatar is the third largest destination for overseas Filipino workers, with over 200,000 members there and received Philippine exports worth $59.2 million last year.