Japanese businessmen have shown interest in the Philippines, as a 29-man delegation, composed of executives in the fields of manufacturing and services, explored economic zones for their planned investments.
Japan External Trade Organization executive vice president Tatsuhiro Shindo led the Japanese mission and met Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. to express the group’s interest in Philippine investments.
Cristobal said the Japanese delegation’s visit was timely, as the government pushed for the Manufacturing Resurgence Program.
“Our investment promotion offices led by the BoI [Board of Investments], the Foreign Trade Service Corps and our Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Tokyo are more than ready to provide assistance to Japanese companies who would want to set up shop or expand their operations in the country,” he said.
Cristobal also cited the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program, a component of MRP, which provides a comprehensive package of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to automotive manufacturers.
The government is allocating P27 billion in fiscal support for the next six years to encourage investments in the manufacture of whole-body large plastic parts and other strategic auto parts that are not currently produced locally.
The same fund provides variable incentives to induce both volume production and logistics efficiency.
Most of the Japanese delegation are small and medium enterprises engaged in automotive and electronics parts manufacturing, with some already having presence in the Philippines.
The Trade Department assured the Japanese delegates and Jetro of its continuing support and assistance.