MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines continues to invite more Japanese investors to expand their operations in the country as it highlighted opportunities in priority areas at a recent investment forum.
In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Osaka and the Board of Investments (BOI) recently concluded a Philippine Investment Roadshow in Osaka City last month.
According to the DTI, PTIC Osaka has identified several priority sectors and key strategies in the delivery of its trade and investment promotion mandates.
Among these strategies is the aggressive promotion of the Philippines as a preferred destination for Japanese supply chain players.
“This is particularly important as there is a pressing need to significantly improve the country’s manufacturing supply and value chain ecosystem to support the presence of major manufacturing conglomerates already operating in the country, as well as to attract the entry of new players and reduce dependence on importation in the sourcing of manufacturing imports and raw materials,” the DTI said.
Among priority sectors identified by the PTIC are the automotive industry manufacturing and electric vehicles, innovation and research and development, agriculture modernization, pharmaceutical and life sciences, and infrastructure development.
The Osaka roadshow featured meetings with PTIC Osaka’s important strategic partners such as with officials of Resona Bank and the Osaka International Business Promotion Center.
“This was followed by a high-level Philippine Investment Round Table Meeting hosted by Resona Bank at their Osaka headquarters, attended by major Kansai-based companies, many of which already have operations in the country,”it said.
During the forum, Trade undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo discussed the strategic investment opportunities in key sectors particularly for Japanese companies, government incentives, and the country’s comparative advantages.
He also shared the current economic outlook, strategic opportunities for Japanese manufacturing players, and the country’s menu of investment incentives and programs.
Moreover, the trade official cited game-changing key policy reforms offering to provide valuable investment incentives and programs to reduce cost of doing business in the Philippines.
Among these are the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, the amendments made to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTLA), Foreign Investment Act (FIA), and Public Services Act (PSA) which are all envisioned to attract more Japanese participation in the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) pipeline.
PTIC Osaka also organized a series of one-on-one meetings for the BOI officials with top executives of various Kansai-based Japanese companies, which all announced their plans to expand their operations and infuse additional investments into the country.
The companies belonged to key manufacturing sectors such as precision metal parts and components, high-end garments manufacturing, precision plastics and components, and software development among others, two of which signified their intention to establish manufacturing facilities in CALABARZON, in addition to existing facilities in Cebu.
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