Shimano invests P1.7B in PH factory

Bicycle maker Shimano Inc. of Japan is investing roughly 3.5 billion Yen (about P1.7 billion) in a manufacturing facility at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Tanauan City, Batangas.

Toshinao Urabe, Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines, said in a briefing Tuesday that Shimano was one of the many Japanese companies that are either considering to put up a facility in the country or expanding their existing operations here.

The Philippines reportedly remains one of the best investment destinations for manufacturing facilities in the region, despite the apparent challenges posed by the country’s policies on foreign ownership and tax refunds, added Nobuo Fujii, vice president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc.

Fujii explained that a number of Japanese factory owners in China, for instance, were looking at possibly relocating in the Philippines, which provides various incentives for investors locating within the economic zones and has a skilled English-speaking workforce.

For Shimano, Fujii said the company would be manufacturing and assembling mountain bikes for export mostly to the BRIC countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India and China. The manufacturing facility is expected to be completed within a year.

Shimano said that its subsidiary, Shimano (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., will establish the manufacturing company in the Philippines.

The Philippine unit, which will be named Shimano (Philippines) Inc., will put up a facility within a 106,620 sq.m. lot at the First Philippine Industrial Park.

Construction is expected to be finished by July 2014 while the start of operations is targeted for December 2014.

The parent firm, Shimano Inc., is a Japanese multinational manufacturer and distributor of bicycle components, fishing tackle, cold forging products and rowing equipment.

It was established in February 1921 and was incorporated in January 1940. It has 44 consolidated subsidiaries globally.

As of end-March 2013, Shimano posted consolidated net sales of 63.278 billion Yen, up slightly from the 62.472 billion Yen it recorded during the same period last year. Net income stood at 7.652 billion Yen in the first quarter of the year.