The Trade department will hold dialogues with experts and stakeholders in creating strategic industry road maps to improve the country’s competitiveness, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

"Inputs from all these forums will contribute to the department’s overall trade and industry programs and plans as we align our efforts to strengthen our country’s competitiveness and grow our presence in the global market," Trade and Industry Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo was quoted as saying.

"The DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) aims to become a catalyst towards inclusive growth that the [President Benigno S. C.] Aquino [III] administration has envisioned. These road maps will help us set our priorities so we can contribute in the country’s development goals," he added.

The experts tapped for the road maps are economists Bernardo M. Villagas and Rolando T. Dy from the University of Asia and the Pacific, Emmanuel S. de Dios from the University of the Philippines, Norio Usui from Asian Development Bank, and Soonhwa Yi from the World Bank.

Other private sector representatives include Guillermo M. Luz, National Competitiveness Council co-chair; Roberto F. Batungbacal, Federation of Philippine Industries executive director; and Gillian Joyce G. Virata, Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines senior executive director.

The sector-specific road maps are slated to come out in the middle of the year, earlier reports said quoting Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr.

These road maps are also seen to help eventually the trade agency in determining tax incentives for companies as detailed in the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

"The industry road maps could affect the direction of the IPP in terms of determining which specific sectors of the industries need incentives," Mr. Domingo said at the sidelines of the Philippine Business Registry launch on Friday.

original source: www.bworldonline.com