The Philippines is working out at least $2 billion worth of investments with Japan as they seek to strengthen trade and economic ties.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said most of the deals are agri-business in nature.
“We are not limiting the possibility of getting more than $2 billion [worth of investments]. We have outlined 12 deals that cut across industries with Japan’s private sector. We have lots of [Japanese] companies committing to buying our agriculture products,” he said.
Lopez is flying to Japan today with President Rodrigo Dueterte for a three-day state visit that is expected to yield more investment opportunities for the Philippines.
A Japanese company already expressed interest to import 20 million boxes of bananas and mangoes from the Philippines.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed Japan was the country’s top trading partner in 2015, accounting for a total trade worth $18.7 billion or 14.4 percent of the total.