Vista Land unit seeks BOI perks for Bataan project

MANILA, Philippines - A unit of listed Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., is applying for tax perks for its housing project in Bataan.

In a published notice, Board of Investments (BOI) said “Communities Pampanga, Inc.,… is applying for registration with the BOI as new developer of low cost mass housing project (Camella Orani) with a total capacity of 234 housing units on non-pioneer status.”

The project is located at Tugatog, Orani in Bataan.

The firm could enjoy incentives such as income tax holidays as well as other fiscal and non-fiscal perks for the project if the application would be approved by the BOI.

The government is offering incentives to encourage firms to invest in priority sectors.

The sectors being promoted by the government are identified in the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) released by the BOI every year.

Under the 2013 IPP which is currently being used, mass housing is listed as a preferred activity.

Also identified as preferred activities in the 2013 IPP list are agriculture or agribusiness and fishery; creative industries or knowledge-based services; shipbuilding; iron and steel; energy; infrastructure; research and development; green projects; motor vehicles; strategic projects; hospital or medical services; and disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery projects.

Communities Pampanga is under Communities Philippines Inc., a business unit of Vista Land.

Established in 1991, Communities Philippines offers low-cost and affordable residential properties outside the Mega Manila area.

Other business units of Vista Land are Brittany Corp., Camella Homes, Inc., Crown Asia Properties, and Vista Residences, Inc.

Vista Land is set to tap the retail bond market for the first time to raise as much as P5 billion.

The proceeds of the maiden bond offering would be used for commercial development projects of its subsidiaries.