PH offers 5 sectors to Japan investors

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Malacañan Palace on January 12, 2017. The Prime Minister of Japan is scheduled for a two-day visit to the country. KING RODRIGUEZ/Presidential Photo

The Department of Trade and Industry is drumming up opportunities for Japanese investors in five priority areas as Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledge a package of close to $9 billion in public and private inflows to the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez Friday told reporters that the five areas prioritized in the Philippines’ comprehensive national industrial strategy were manufacturing, infrastructure and logistics, tourism, services, an agribusiness.

Investors would be particularly invited to do business in electronic manufacturing services, automotive and auto parts, aerospace parts, chemicals, shipbuilding, tool and die, furniture and garments, power, and transport and logistics.

Lopez said Japanese businesses could also look into construction and non-voice services in the business process management industry, particularly in the segments of medical, financial and legal services; game development; engineering design in manufacturing; software development, and shared services.

He also mentioned businesses related to cacao, coffee, mangoes, bananas, coconuts, rubber, bamboo, fruits and nuts, palm oil and other high-value crops.

“Let me reiterate the open policy of the whole government toward investment,” Lopez said in an address to Japanese businessmen.

“We welcome all foreign investments in almost all areas of activities except for a short negative list, which have limited foreign equity participation, but the rest are open,” he added.

The trade chief said that Abe, whose visit to the country has brought him to Davao City, was accompanied by top executives from major Japanese companies.

Lopez said the business organizations represented included Marubeni, Mitsubushi, Itochu, Sumitomo, Toyota, Sumifru, Mizuho and the Nakayama Japanese Chamber.

He said there were also officials from “Chodai, Kirin, Tsuneishi, Tokyo Gas, Ichijo, Hitachi, Nakayama Technologies, a gasoline company, and an engineering services [provider].”

Lopez said the aid-plus-investment pledge from Japan was just about as much as that received from China when President Duterte visited Beijing in October 2016.

“I think the [pledge from Japan is] the biggest so far [from any country] during the Duterte administration), Lopez said. Arguably, “it may actually be higher than China’s pledge, which is about $6 billion in official development assistance and $3 billion in financing facility.”