MANILA – Several Japanese companies expressed intent to expand their operations in the Philippines, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.
Recto in a Viber message to the Philippine News Agency on Wednesday said one company is planning to spend roughly PHP46 billion for its expansion.
“One company alone is [investing] roughly PHP46 billion. Most of them have investments in Batangas,” he said.
A Philippine delegation to Japan led by Recto engaged with top executives of Japanese companies to invite them to expand their presence in the Philippines.
In a social media post on Wednesday, the Department of Finance said the meetings were organized by the Department of Trade and Industry’s field office in Tokyo and were held on the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing in Japan.
Among the Japanese companies were Sojitz Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and Sumitomo Corporation.
Sojitz Corporation is involved in a wide range of global businesses, including manufacturing, selling, importing, and exporting various products.
In the Philippines, it operates diverse businesses, from commodities trading to several investment projects in agriculture, food, telecommunication, infrastructure, property development, automotive, and mining.
Mitsubishi Corporation, meanwhile, is a global integrated business enterprise involved in project development, production, and manufacturing.
In the Philippines, Mitsubishi handles the export and import of various products, consumer market activities, as well as infrastructure and renewable energy development.
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd specializes in research and development, manufacturing, and sales of ceramic-based electronics.
The Philippine Manufacturing Co. of Murata Inc. (PMM) in Batangas is Murata’s largest production site in Asia, primarily producing multilayer ceramic capacitors.
Sumitomo Corporation engages in multifaceted business activities, including product and service sales, import and export, and both domestic and international business investment.
Sumitomo’s investments in the Philippines include the First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas, which hosts approximately 150 manufacturing industries.
It has also been supporting the country’s railway projects, including MRT-3, LRT-1, the Metro Manila Subway, and the North-South Commuter Rail.
Joining Recto in Japan were Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go; Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman; National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan; Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual; and Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.
Also present were Department of Energy Undersecretary Felix Fuentebella; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr.; Bases Conversion and Development Authority president and chief executive officer Joshua Bingcang; and Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano.
Meanwhile, Pascual said the Marcos administration is ensuring a business environment that promotes and encourages foreign investments.
“We are enacting recent policy reforms, that strategically broaden the participation of foreign companies in key sectors of the Philippine economy,” he said during the Philippine economic team’s meeting with Sojitz Corp., a sogo shosha or general trading company.
He said one of these reforms is the more efficient value-added tax (VAT) regime through the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy Bill, which recently gained second-reading approval in the House of Representatives.
He said this bill is the administration’s response to one of the concerns of Japanese investors regarding VAT incentives.
Aside from upcoming legislations, he said the DTI alone has established the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments, or the green lane, for investments with big economic impact.
Pascual told Sojitz executives that as of end-May this year, his office has endorsed 68 projects with investment value of USD35 billion under the green lane for faster processing of their permits and licenses in both national government agencies and local government units.
“The DTI extends a warm invitation to Japanese businesses to explore the vast opportunities within the Philippine market. With a strong economic foundation, a commitment to a transparent and investor-friendly environment, and a shared vision for a sustainable future, the Philippines stands ready to solidify its position as a strategic partner for Japan,” he said. (with reports from Kris Krismundo/PNA)
