The Senate Bill No. 1357 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Bill, formerly known as Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA) was passed on its third and final reading by the Senate on 26 November 2020 with twenty out of twenty-one (20/21) senators voted in favor, and one (1) opposed.
Once it has been enacted into law, corporate income taxes (CIT) will be reduced from 30% to 25%, time-bound & performance-based incentives will be induced, and fiscal incentives will be rationalized to further attract necessary foreign direct investments.
Continue reading Senate passes the CREATE bill on final reading
In partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry – Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) virtually launched the first-ever SheTrades hub in Asia held on 03 December 2020. The Shetrades hub seeks to connect three million PH women entrepreneurs to the global market by 2021 and provide women entrepreneurs and women-owned Small and Medium Enterprises worldwide with a unique network and platform to connect to the global markets.
The Philippine Cold Chain Roadmap has been launched with the primary objective “to guide the industry in the coming years and adapt to the “new normal” situation.”
ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) Secretary-General Fujita Masataka reported that many countries had felt disruptions of supply chains in this time of the pandemic. Hence the series of calls at the international and regional level for strengthening and rebuilding of value chains such that of the G20 Actions to support world trade and investment in response to COVID19 on 14 May 2020, and the Hanoi Plan of Action on Strengthening ASEAN Economic Cooperation and Supply Chain Connectivity in Response to the COVID19 pandemic on 19 June 2020. 
DICT responds to the need for an abrupt shift for Digitalization pushed by the global health crisis brought by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The majority of businesses are currently leveraging the use of online platforms to continue their market. As part of the new normal adaptation, online platforms are an excellent measure to sustain their market demand.
Export Boost is to be expected from the recently signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It will broaden trade in goods and services, deepening economic integration among the 10 Southeast Asian countries, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. By far, this is the world’s largest trading agreement bloc covering 30% of the global economic output in the coming years.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is working with banks on the standardization of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loan application process. BSP is also developing the concept note and draft standard loan application form. This initiative aims to streamline/ lessen the requirements of financial institutions and provide more access to MSMEs.
The legislation creating the Philippine Transportation Safety Board is nearing enactment after hurdling the House Appropriation Committee on Wednesday, 18 November 2020. The bill was previously approved jointly by the Transportation and Government Reorganization Committees. The Senate has earlier approved its version on the third and final reading.