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PH confirms Japanese business engagement in P27.2 B-worth of Philippine Investment Projects
More infrastructure dev’t, jobs ahead
 
TOKYO—Philippine-Japanese economic relations continue to expand as the Philippines successfully confirms PhP 27.2 billion-worth of business engagement commitments, following the three-day visit of the country’s top officials to Japan recently (28 February to 2 March).
 
At the sidelines of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) - organized Philippine Business Forum in Tokyo and the 35th Annual Meeting of the Japan-Philippines Economic Cooperation Committee (JPECC) and the Philippines-Japan Economic Cooperation Committee (PHILJECC),  Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez met with Japanese executives of top private firms who expressed interest in investing and expanding business activities in the Philippines.
 
Sec. Lopez met with Tsuneishi President Kenji Kawano to discuss the expansion plans of the company in the Philippines.
 
“These projects with Tsuneishi involve a 120-hectare ship reuse center in Negros Occidental, a biomass fuel project in Mindanao, and an international steel recycling facility that will be equipped with state of the art green technologies,” he said.
 
The projects with Tsuneishi are estimated to add PhP 5 B to the 10.2 B existing commitments & 6,000 to the 26,000 jobs expected for a total PhP 15.2 billion worth of investment pledges and direct and direct employment prospects for 32,000 workers in shipbuilding, biofuel and steel recycling industries.
 
Meanwhile, prefabricated housing components manufacturing company Ichijo Co. Ltd, also discussed with the trade chief its plan to expand its facilities in Cavite with the construction of a two-story warehouse, whose estimated value reaches nearly PhP 2 billion. The expansion would spell employment opportunities for 600 Filipinos.
 
“Ichijo’s competitive operations in the Philippines made its number 6 ranking closer to the standing of the industry frontrunner Sekisui House,” he added.
 
Furthermore, another Japanese company in technology solutions confirmed expansion of operations in the amount of PhP 10 B and 20 thousand new jobs on top of the existing 25 thousand strong labor pool.
 
Sec. Lopez also joined Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Philippine Ambassador to Japan Jose Laurel V. in a breakfast meeting with senior executives of Japan’s seven major trading houses namely Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., Ltd, Sumitomo Corporation, Itochu Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz Corporation.
 
The Sōgō Shōsha group confirmed interest in forging partnerships with the Philippines in projects in diverse fields such as power generation, railway and transportation, water management and security.
 
Examples of such projects include a coal power plant with an estimated cost of over Php 75 billion, capacity enhancements of mass transportation, namely LRT Line 1 South extension, LRT Line 2 East extension, North-South Commuter Railway Project, possible development of transit systems in Davao, Cebu and Clark, and enhancement of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) fleet of Multi Role Response Vessels (MRRV).
 
For the latter half of 2016 to 2018, the Sōgō Shōsha’s group of companies (including subsidiaries and affiliates) reported business engagement interests in projects amounting to P 201.15 billion in priority segments of the present government’s Philippine economic development plan.
 
The Philippine Mission garnered business leads valued at over Php 220 billion and employment prospects for over 30,000 workers from Japanese companies.
 
“These commitments are a testament of Japanese investors’ ever-growing confidence in the Philippines,” Sec. Lopez concluded, adding that today is the perfect timing to push for investment opportunities, especially since the Philippines experiences momentous economic takeoff in the region”.

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