Manila to make a pitch to Japanese investors

Philippine economic managers will hold a roadshow in Japan this week to encourage Japanese companies to make the Philippines their hub, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, tourism, power sector and the capital market.

In a statement issued over the weekend, the Investor Relations Office (IRO) said the roadshow, to be held at Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo, Japan on Oct. 8, would carry the theme “Sustaining Inclusive Growth through Infrastructure and Capital Market Development.”

During the said roadshow, Philippine officials will “discuss before the Japanese audience updates on the Philippines’ economic performance and outlook, as well as the country’s development plans and targets for the medium term,” IRO said.

Economic managers joining the roadshow are Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, Socio-economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio L. Singson, Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Teresita J. Herbosa.

“There have been exciting developments in the Philippine economy over the past four years, and even more exciting things are expected to happen over the medium term as the agenda of good governance, infrastructure development and social progress continue. We would like to share the positive outlook to investors and fund managers in Japan, and tell them it is worthwhile to do business in the Philippines,” Purisima was quoted by IRO as saying.

Latest government data showed that pledges made by Japanese firms to the country’s investment promotion agencies in the first quarter of 2014 rose by 59.3 percent to P8.327 billion from P5.229 billion in the first three months of last year. For the entire 2013, Japanese investors committed P44.784 billion worth of projects.

Also joining the Philippine team at the Tokyo roadshow are National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon, Public-Private Partnership Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Assistant Governor Johnny Noe E. Ravalo, Bureau of Internal Revenue Deputy Commissioner Nelson M. Aspe, Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Rene K. Limcaoco, Energy Undersecretary Raul B. Aguilos, IRO Executive Director Editha L. Martin, and Philippine Stock Exchange head of marketing services Jose Antonio S. Vilar.

“The Philippine delegation will also talk about the income potentials for investments in the priority sectors of the government, as well as the processes involved in securities and tax registration in the Philippines,” the IRO said.

Also, the event would showcase talks by Japan Bank for International Cooperation director and senior economist Etsuaki Yoshida and Japan International Cooperation Agency director general for Southeast Asia and Pacific Hidetoshi Irigaki. The two Japanese speakers will discuss their outlook on the Philippines’ monetary and fiscal system as well as the infrastructure sector.

The IRO said the Philippine economy expanded by an average of 6.3 percent between 2010 and 2013, making it one of the “fastest-growing” Asian economies of late.

For this year, the government had projected the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by between 6.5 and 7.5 percent. In the remaining two years of the Aquino administration, the GDP rates are expected to expand by 7 to 8 percent in 2015 and 7.5 to 8.5 percent in 2016.