Peza secures more Japanese investments

MANILA  -The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) on Tuesday said the country has secured more investment from Japanese firms, citing thousands of news jobs and millions of dollars’ worth of capital can be expected from this latest wave of business ventures from the East Asian country.

Peza Director General Tereso O. Panga said a trade mission in Osaka, Japan last month yielded new and expansion project applications, citing in particular those of three Japanese firms.

First is that of the Tokyo-based construction firm Ichijo Corp, which plans to increase its annual housing delivery capacity in the Philippines from 15,000 units to 20,000 units in 2024.

The Peza said Ichijo Corp is poised to create 3,000 to 4,000 new jobs to augment their 23,000-strong workforce in the country.

Meanwhile, die and mold company OB Kogyo Ltd. expressed their intent to reinvest $3 million in their Philippine plant over the next three years, bolstering local manufacturing capabilities, according to Peza.

Further, Shin-Etsu Corp -which is engaged in the production and research of high-performance rare earth magnets- expressed keen interest in expanding its local operations amid the projected growth of the global electronic vehicle (EV) sector.

To date, according to Peza, there are 881 Japanese companies registered with them, which has brought in P766.550 billion worth of investments, exports amounting to $ 5.36 billion, and created 340,601 direct jobs.

Earlier this year, the Peza approved three big-ticket green energy investments from Japan, those of Torrefaction Technology Inc., Asian Transmission Corp, and Pricon Microelectronics Inc. Combined, these project are worth of P20.591 billion and are expected to create 2,000 new jobs.

“These recent big-ticket investments prove that trust and confidence in investing in the Philippines, particularly from our long-standing trade partners such as Japan, are at an all-time high. Led by President Marcos Jr., we will be doubling down on our aggressive and targeted approach to investment promotion,” Panga said in a statement.

From January to June of this year, the Peza approved P80.58 billion worth of investments, nearly thrice of what it recorded in the same period in 2022.

The government investment promotion agency is targeting a conservative 10 percent growth in its investment approvals this year, after recording P140.7 billion worth of investments in 2022.