(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines will offer tax breaks to as many as three automakers as one of Asia’s fastest growing economies aims to become a regional production hub. President Benigno Aquino is set to issue an order implementing the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program, or CARS, “within this year,” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said in an interview in his office in Manila Tuesday. “The car industry’s supply chain feeds into other industries, and we think that becoming a regional hub will help fill our gaps in manufacturing.” The Philippines is seeking to replicate Thailand’s success in building its auto industry, betting that a young workforce and its biggest economic boom since the 1950s will lure companies such as Volkswagen AG. Aquino, who steps down in June 2016, is raising spending on roads and airports to a record this year to lure more foreign direct investment and bolster growth to as much as 8 percent this year and next. Continue reading...
