The Board of Investments said it plans to address the concerns of the local printing sector amid the influx of imported textbooks and related publications.
“There is finance memorandum order on this but apparently it was enforced by the Customs Bureau. We will look into this and hopefully we can settle the matter,” BoI governor-at-large Napoleon Concepcion said at the sidelines of two-day Asean Printing Industry Forum at the City of Dreams Manila.
Concepcion said the local industry was facing new challenges to growth such the fast turnaround of technology for printing equipment and the migration of readers from printed materials to online content.
A few smaller printing houses already shut down operations due to competition and the declining demand for printed materials.
“One big hindrance is equipment and the fast-evolving printing technology. That’s why our industry partners need to upgrade and collaborate with each other,” he said.