Japanese firm sees big opportunities in Philippines

A Japanese air-conditioning manufacturer said there was a “big room” for expansion in the Philippines, expressing regret over earlier complaints made about the country’s ever-changing investment climate, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

In a statement, the DTI said it welcomed a letter from the head office of Daikin Industries, Ltd., which noted that they were planning to strengthen and expand their business operations in the country.

The letter aimed to clarify the statement and comment of Daikin Airconditioning Philippines Inc. in a press conference on the investment climate in the country. The story was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer earlier this month.

“We really regret to see the article of Inquirer Business on 3rd March. And we apologize and feel very sorry for causing misunderstanding in the press conference conducted by our subordinate sales company,” said Daikin’s Industries’ senior executive officer Yoshihiro Mineno in its letter to DTI.

“We do not have any complaint about investment climate in the Philippines nor do not have any intention to criticize the policy of the government. Our real intention is to do our best to expand our business in the Philippines,” Mineno added. A copy of the letter was not shared with the media.

“The Philippines is a very important market for Daikin and has a big room for further expansion. [We] will continue and strengthen our action to expand business in the Philippines,” Mineno’s letter concluded.

The DTI has been pursuing programs and projects to attract investments and revive the Philippine manufacturing sector. Data, however, show different stories about the state of investments in the sector.

Foreign direct investments in the manufacturing sector accounted for a large chunk of total investments last year, increasing 244 percent to $1.15 billion.

However, investment pledges, which could later on become actual FDIs, plunged to a historic low in 2017 due to the uncertainty under the TRAIN law, according to data from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.