By Ben R. Rosario
The House Committee on Ways and Means has urged the Board of Investments to further improve government’s Motor Vehicle Development Program in order to lure more foreign investors to participate in the country’s booming car industry.
Quirino Rep. Dax Cua, committee chairman, aired this appeal as he joined House Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin (AAMBIS OWA party-list) and Batangas Rep. Lynda Bolilia in calling on the BoI to clarify the terminologies used in the MVDP to avoid misunderstanding between importers and government agencies.
At the same time, the House panel welcomed BoI’s decision to downgrade its cancellation of the license of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. from the MVDP.
HARI, exclusive Philippine distributor of Hyundai vehicles, said the BoI decision will allow them to invest more than R2 billion in the next two years to further enhance assembly processes in its Laguna plant.
During a House hearing conducted on the MVDP implementation, HARI representatives said the firm is committed investment would drastically improve its current production line and pave the way for the local assembly of more Hyundai car models.
“Once completed, HARI’s new and improved assembly facilities would be capable of producing 30,000 cars annually. The plant would also employ more workers given its labor-intensive processes,” HARI executive vice president Ladislao Avila said on the sidelines of the hearing.