A government investment mission to Japan resulted in new and expansion project applications, particularly in the areas of home building, chemical, rare earth magnets, among others, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported on Tuesday.
According to PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga, PEZA received interest both from Japanese big-ticket investors and small and micro enterprises (SMEs).
“Most noteworthy would be the commitment of Ichijo Corporation to finalize its expansion plans in 2024, along with possible expansion plans of the ShinEtsu Corporation, OB Kogyo, Ltd., and NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation,” Panga said in a news statement issued on Tuesday.
Panga said Ichijo Corporation plans to increase its annual housing delivery capacity from 15,000 units to 20,000 units in 2024. The PEZA chief said Ichijo is poised to contribute significantly to local employment with an estimated additional 3,000 to 4,000 jobs to its current 23,000-manpower complement.
OB Kogyo,Ltd., a die and mold company, also expressed its interest to “reinvest” $3 million in their Philippine plant over the next three years to bolster local manufacturing capabilities.
Meanwhile, PEZA said ShinEtsu Corporation, one of the global industry leaders in the production and research of high-performance rare earth magnets, informed the investment promotion agency of its possible expansion plans which are dependent on the growth of the global electronic vehicle (EV) sector.
Aside from the investment pledges garnered during the outbound mission to Japan held last July 16 to 22, 2023, PEZA said it has also approved last January and February three big-ticket Japanese investments for this year.
These three big-ticket investments are Green Energy with Torrefaction Technology Inc., Asian Transmission Corporation, and Pricon Microelectronics Inc. PEZA noted that collectively, these three investments bring in P20.591 billion worth of investments, which is seen to employ 1,973 direct workers.
PEZA added the Philippine-Japan Investment Fora in Osaka and Tokyo was co-organized with the Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) Economic Estates and the Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan.
This investment mission, PEZA noted, offered the prospects of investing in the Philippines to several sectors such as manufacturing, IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM), agro-processing, and the academe.
According to PEZA, Japan remains to be one of the Philippines’s “largest and longest-tenured investment partners.”
In fact, Panga said, “To date, 881 Japanese companies are registered with PEZA, bringing in P766.550 billion worth of investments in the country, with exports of $5.362 billion and generating up to 340,601 direct jobs for Filipinos.”
Japan firms keen on expanding Philippine business operations
Source: News Paper Radio
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