ASEAN Regulatory Brief: Philippines Green Energy Initiatives, Myanmar Industrial Zone Land Use, and Brunei Companies Act Amendments

May 26, 2017 Posted by ASEAN Briefing Reading Time: 4 minutes

Philippines: Tax incentives announced for companies going green

The Philippines Board of Investment (BOI) has announced that it is planning to introduce tax incentives for companies going green. The initiative under the Climate Incentives for Manufacturing (CLIMA) program will target firms in the manufacturing sector. To qualify, enterprises should promote energy efficiency and use technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. While the exact nature of the incentives are not known, they are likely to be in the form of capital equipment incentives and income tax holidays.

Myanmar: Government cracks down on property speculators in industrial zones

In its bid to crack down on real estate speculators, the government has ordered all unused land in industrial zones to be taken over if they remain unutilized for six months. The measures have been taken to prevent property speculation in the country’s industrial zones. The government has received complaints that property speculators buy such land only to sell them to serious investors at a premium. The government has also ordered inspection of industrial zones to prevent land from being used for unauthorised purposes such as for warehouse lease.

Brunei: Companies Act amended to give more powers to minority shareholders

Amendments were made to Brunei’s Companies Act recently to give more powers to minority stake holders. Minority shareholders will now be allowed to attend any general meeting of a company. In addition, any meeting called to pass a special resolution has to be intimated 21 days in advance through a written notice. Furthermore, directors will now be required to disclose their interest in any transaction related to real estate and commercial property.

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