Japan firms urged to invest more in PH

THE CHIEF of Ayala-LED Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) has urged more Japanese multinational corporations which are seeking opportunities in Southeast Asia to consider the Philippines as a key investment hub.

Arthur Tan, president of IMI—a provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and power semiconductor assembly and test services—invited Japanese companies to make the Philippines their next investment destination in a presentation in Tokyo on Wednesday during the Philippines-Japan Business Investment Forum.

The forum organized by Nikkei Business Publications was attended by 250 representatives from Japanese multinational companies which were either considering expansion or are already expanding their interest in Southeast Asian countries.

“With the second highest economic growth in the region and a population of a hundred million, sentiment on the Philippines has improved,” Tan said.

“One million Filipinos reach working age each year, half of which are college graduates. They speak English and are easily trainable. This tells us something about the quality of Filipino workers,” added Tan.

The Philippines scored the highest in terms of ease of hiring workers, quality of employees, and employee retention based on a recent survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) of Japanese-affiliated firms in Asia and Oceania, Tan said.

“Having competent and skillful workers who stay long in a company is important if the product you are building requires the highest quality and reliability. The people, with the right mindset, the heart, and the feel for where your product is headed, make the difference,” Tan said.

Tan also took note of Filipinos’ creativity and “ability to adapt to different situations, people, and cultures, and build something new.”

“The combination of the Filipinos’ creativity and the Japanese’ discipline and technology makes for a very good base for building quality products,” said Tan.

Laguna-based IMI is the one of the world’s largest EMS providers and the 7th biggest in automotive EMS in 2014, according to US-based market research firm New Venture Research.