Security Bank, MUFG in investment promotion deal with BOI

MANILA  – Security Bank and the MUFG Bank have signed an agreement with the Board of Investments (BOI) to promote business opportunities between Philippine and Japanese companies, with the three-way partnership seen attracting new investors from the world’s third largest economy.

Both banks said in a statement issued on Friday that the memorandum of agreement signed with the Department of Trade and Industry’s lead investment promotion agency will see them promoting investments in the Philippines through joint business activities.

“Security Bank’s strategic partnership with MUFG, through our alliance segment and Wholesale Banking Segment-Japan Desk, will help us create meaningful impact by expanding our ecosystem, integrating best practices and ushering in global opportunities for local clients,” Security Bank president and CEO Sanjiv Vohra said in a statement.

“MUFG Bank has a solid footprint in export [and] import businesses particularly with [Philippine Economic Zone Authority] companies, so we intend to capitalize on this to strengthen client relationships and extend our reach to other industries,” Masami Yoshitake, the deputy country head and managing director at the Manila branch of the MUFG Bank, said for their part.

Yoshitake added that their collaboration team will remain in a proactive stance to capture Japanese investments by leveraging their network in the Asia-Pacific region.

Both banks said that they will also work together with the BOI to promote investments by way of customer referrals in both countries, particularly from industries or sectors outlined in the Philippine government investment framework, the Strategic Investment Priority Plan.

Japanese relationships

The MUFG bank said it will leverage its relationship with Japanese companies, while the Security Bank will harness its local capabilities and customer base as potential investment partners, thereby further strengthening business collaboration.

The two banks also said that there will also be an exchange of information between Philippine and Japanese investors doing business in the Philippines, including investment projects of interests and investments promotion programs, among others.

Planned initiatives under the agreement include a Philippine online investment seminar in the third quarter of the year, as well as a seminar in Japan scheduled for December 2023.

From January to May of this year, the BOI has approved P532.2 billion worth of investments, growing by more than twofold, driven by large gains from foreign investors in the renewable energy sector.

The growth during the five-month period was pegged at 158.7 percent compared to the P205.7 billion that the investment promotion agency recorded during the same five-month period in 2022.