PH still a preferred destination of Japanese firms

The Philippines remains one of the preferred investment destinations of Japanese companies,  according to the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro).

More export-oriented Japanese firms are reportedly  considering locating in the country.

“The number of Japanese potential locators who showed interest in the Philippines is increasing rapidly because of the rising supply of workforce, the moderate increases in wages, and the attractive investment and incentive package here,” Jetro executive director Tomohiro Ando explained.

In an interview, Ando said these companies were export-oriented manufacturing firms involved in electronics, metal parts for machinery, and food business.

Ando said most of these companies were considering the Philippines for their expansion plans due mainly to the availability in the country of young and educated workforce.

“Finding human resource is much more difficult in other countries because the population structure by age in the Asean is rapidly changing except for the Philippines, whose age bracket between 18 and 60 is seen to remain big in the next 30 years,” Ando said.

“This has been predicted so locators can expect sufficient workforce supply in the Philippines even in the future,” he added.

A survey conducted by Jetro among Japanese expatriates in 2012 showed that the Philippine business environment had remained competitive with its its peers in Asia, including India, Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

Comparison was made in terms of profitability, good management and salary ranges.

Based on the ratings by Japanese expatriates in each country, the Philippines had the least number of challenges, which included the “difficulty in the local procurement of raw materials and parts” and the “lack of employee awareness for localization.”

Ando added that high electricity cost, although it did not come up in the survey, was also a concern among Japanese firms.