The Bangsamoro Board of Investments in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BBOI-BARMM) on Friday announced the registration approval of two new investments in the region worth PHP408 million.
In a statement, Ishak Mastura, BBOI-BARMM chair, identified the new investments as the 2,000-hectare industrial corn plantation of the Lanao del Sur Corn Development Corp. (LDSCDC), and the Halal certification project of the Prime Certification and Inspection Asia Pacific, Inc. or PRIME Certification.
“With the peace and order situation immensely improving, and political stability gaining ground in the region, it is the best time to invest in the BARMM,” Mastura, a lawyer, said.
Regarding the LDSCDC investment, he said the corn plantation would rise in Wao and Amai Manabiling towns in Lanao del Sur.
As for PRIME’s Halal certification project, Mastura said the undertaking caters to Muslims who demand that the products they consume are Sharia (Islamic law) compliant or “halal” (permissible).
He said the global halal market stands at USD7 trillion.
The halal industry, he said, includes many sectors, among them cosmetics, chemicals and cleaning products, agricultural products, food, energy, tourism, and finance.
“As global trade develops and the number of manufacturers entering the market increases, the demand for certificates that inform consumers if the product is halal is also increasing, especially here in Asia with the bulk of Muslims living in the continent,” Mastura said.
He pointed out that Halal certification activities, including market research, also attract the attention of Western standards and certification bodies due to the size of the market.
“The BARMM is fortunate to have the PRIME Certification, one of the leading global Halal certification players, that has located its regional operations here,” Mastura added.
PRIME – Asia Pacific is a subsidiary of PRIME LLC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the only recognized Halal certification body in the Philippines of the Emirates Authority for Standards and Metrology.
PRIME is accredited by the Emirates International Accreditation Center and its National Accreditation Board for Certification.
“This project in BARMM is worth PHP49 million. A total of 13 people will be employed in the PRIME offices in Cotabato City at the start,” Mastura said.
Early this year, PRIME was recognized by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) as the first and only Philippine-based halal certification body to give certification for food exports bound for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
This came about after the Saudi government came up with a regulation stipulating that meat, poultry, and their derivative products can only be exported to the KSA if they have halal certificates, issued by a body accredited and approved by the SFDA, which regulates food, drug, and medicines, both imported and domestic, for the conservative Muslim country.
Saudi Arabia is the biggest and richest halal market in the Middle East with a population of 35 million people.
The investment project of PRIME in the BARMM envisions a laboratory and testing facilities and a training center for halal auditors, who will be fielded or employed in the enterprises.
With PRIME based in Cotabato City, manpower for halal auditors that will be hired by companies seeking halal certification from PRIME will be recruited from the Muslim-majority region since halal auditors are required to be Muslims.
“We see this is a potential game-changer for the halal industry in the BARMM because investors in other areas of Mindanao, such as the Davao region and the Northern Mindanao region, will be getting their halal certification from PRIME based in Cotabato City if they want to export their products to the Middle East,” said Mary Jane Alvero, the group’s chief executive officer.
Alvero said PRIME is also committed to supporting and collaborating on the Halal program of the BARMM, which has its Halal board under the Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Tourism.
Mastura said the registered investment projects would enjoy fiscal incentives, such as income tax holidays and reduced duties and tariffs for the importation of capital equipment, dispensed by the BBOI-BARMM under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE law.
He noted that fiscal incentives for halal industry investments could only be availed of in the BBOI-BARMM because investments in the halal industry are not registrable under the national BOI so it is strategic for PRIME to locate its Mindanao base of operations in the BARMM.
The BARMM comprises the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi; the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi; and 63 villages in six towns of North Cotabato
Source: Philippines News Agency
