Japanese toy manufacturer Bandai Namco Group is investing P400 million to put up a new toy factory within the 485-hectare Lima Technology Center in Batangas, according to Lima Land Inc.
In a statement, Lima Land marketing officer Marcus Andre C. Ong said the planned factory would be producing action figures, vending machine capsule products and other amusement items. The construction of the 10,000-square-meter factory is expected to begin this October and operations are projected to start next year.
Ong, however, did not disclose the capacity of the plant, but only noted that the entire output of the Bandai factory would be purely for export. None of the production will be allocated for domestic sales.
The production facility in Batangas will be overseen by Bandai (Philippines) Inc., a new subsidiary of the Bandai Namco Group. The group, through its toys and hobby strategic business unit, is the manufacturer of the popular Tamagotchi virtual pet electronic game. Bandai Namco also produces the Gundam and Power Ranger series of action figures.
The Lima Technology Center, the future home of the Bandai facility, currently hosts 38 locators employing more than 19,000 employees. Locators at the Lima center are engaged in various manufacturing pursuits ranging from automobile components and motorcycles to printers, plastic moldings and LCD projectors.
The industrial park has been designated as a special economic zone by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), which allows locators to enjoy various incentives such as income tax holidays and exemption from duties and taxes for imported capital equipment.
The Lima Technology Center is a project of Lima Land Inc., a joint venture of Japan’s Marubeni Corp. and Alsons Land Corp. of the Alcantara family.
Apart from the creation and management of industrial estates and other property development ventures, the Alcantara group is also engaged in aquaculture, agribusiness, power project development, power generation management and services.