The Philippine Economic Zone Authority said Tuesday it is set to approve four big-ticket investment projects from Japanese industrial companies that are into production of multilayer ceramic capacitors, brushless DC motors and biomass carbonization.
“[We] got this assurance on continued robustness of Japanese FDI inflows into the Philippines from my recent meetings with the top executives of the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines, Japan External Trade Organization, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc., Japan International Cooperation Agency and Cavite Economic Zone Investors Association,” said PEZA officer-in-charge Tereso Panga.
Panga did not identify the four Japanese investors.
He said PEZA was pushing for a presidential proclamation on new ecozone developments with Japanese equity in First Philippine Industrial Park, Lima Industrial Park, West Cebu Industrial Park and Yazaki-Torres Manufacturing Corp..
Panga said Japanese locators continued to expand their projects inside economic zones particularly in the sectors of electronics; chemicals such as oleo and activated carbon; automotive and automotive parts; computer and optical products; and transport and logistics.
He said with the Japanese government’s stimulus program for manufacturing companies to shift their production from China to ASEAN, PEZA was hoping that more Japanese firms would relocate to the Philippines.
PEZA registered 903 locator companies with Japanese equity, generating total investments of P735.9 billion and providing employment to 350,486 Filipinos.
“Given the current 27.2-percent share of Japan in the total ecozone FDIs and the steady increase/share of Japanese ecozone investments even amid pandemic and threat of global recession, we remain bullish that the Japanese will continue to be our number 1 investor in PEZA not only this year but for the many years to come,” Panga said.
Japanese investments amounted to P8 billion or 26 percent of FDIs approved by PEZA from January to August.
“We thank the Japanese government for being one of the country’s major strategic development partners. By far, Japan has been and continues to be the biggest donor of the Philippines. Through JICA, it has done a lot to improve the competitiveness of entrepreneurs and businesses, develop industrial and investment policies and business environment, and raise national incomes to enable the country achieve high quality and sustainable economic growth,” Panga said.