The Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Trade Department agreed to aggressively position the Philippine automotive industry in the global value chains to create jobs and spur foreign and domestic investments in the Philippines.
Jica chief representative Susumu Ito and Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. recently signed a two-year technical cooperation project that will start by July or August 2016.
“Jica remains committed to supporting the Philippines’ inclusive development agenda by promoting the manufacturing industry and helping create jobs for Filipinos. The GVC is important because we understand that for private sector, it is a primary element of new industrial policy for both global and regional production. We hope that the new project with DTI will help further integrate Philippine automakers in the global value chain,” said Ito.
Through consultation with relevant stakeholders, the project will come up with industrial promotion plans for the target industries and eventually be incorporated into the manufacturing industry roadmap.
“As a strong driver for economic growth and job creation, the automotive industry has been regarded to have substantially multiplier effects on knowledge transfer and linkages creation within the domestic economy,” Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said.
“This has become the empirical basis for JICA and Trade Department to target automotive, auto-parts and auto-electronics as the focused industries for the two year project,” he said.
Rodolfo will be responsible for the overall administration and implementation of the project, while the BoI executive director for industry development meanwhile will act as project manager and be responsible for the smooth implementation of the project.
Jica, meanwhile, will give the needed technical guidance and recommendations to the Trade Department.
Jica added that the technical cooperation project with department complemented the Philippines’ Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program that aimed to provide fiscal support for investments in the manufacture of whole body large plastic parts and other strategic parts not currently produced locally.
The CARS program aims to generate 200,000 new jobs, bring in fresh investments worth $1.2 billion, stimulate local demand by increasing vehicle sales to $9.2 billion, and effectively implement industry regulations that will revitalize the Philippine automotive industry.
The program is anchored on the resurgence of the automotive manufacturing industry and in priming the country as a regional hub.
The Philippines recently refocused on promoting manufacturing in the face of the Asean economic integration.