PEZA to meet PM Abe’s biz delegation in PHL

MANILA—Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Charito Plaza said she will be meeting a top-level business delegation from Japan on Thursday and Friday.

The business executives will be part of the delegation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his two-day official visit to the Philippines from Jan. 12 to 13.

“The Prime Minister of Japan is coming on Jan. 12 and 13. He will have a roundtable discussion in Malacañang. I will be one of those who will present about PEZA because the Prime Minister will be accompanied by top Japanese corporations also,” Plaza said.

The Japanese business delegates will also visit Davao and meet with Filipino companies to explore opportunities in the country.

“They expressed that they are very interested to invest in the Philippines,” the PEZA chief said.

She added that the country’s young labor force is an advantage for the Philippines and very attractive to Japanese companies as Japan has an ageing population.

“While ours, we are producing one million a year working-age Filipinos; half of that are college graduates,” Plaza noted.

Thirty-percent of locators in PEZA economic zones nationwide are Japanese investors.