DTI seals $215M in Japanese investments
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2019 16:11:35 +0000
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sealed $215-million (P11.18 billion) worth of investments at the sidelines of the recent Nikkei Business Publications’ “Philippine-Japan Business Investment Forum” in Tokyo.
In a statement on Monday, DTI said the investment prospects include infrastructure development, railways, electric vehicle (EV) public transport systems, retail, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, factory automation, construction and real estate industries.
On October 28, DTI Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba and Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Tokyo Commercial Counselor Dita Angara-Mathay met with various Japanese firms to share business opportunities available in the country.
One of Japan’s biggest burger chain, MOS Burger, is set to open its first store in the country by March 2020.
Meanwhile, the automotive firm Assemblepoint Co. Ltd. expressed interest in developing smart four-wheeled EVs, and packaging solutions provider Kanepackage was eyeing a new factory in the Philippines.
Japanese anime studio Satelight, on the other hand, was seeking to outsource animation work, and Sumitomo Wiring shared its two expansion projects for wire harness and components manufacturing.
Marubeni Corp. also entered into a joint venture project with Metro Pacific Investment Corp. to construct 30 primary care clinics, 10 cancer centers, and five centralized laboratory testing hubs.
“I am delighted that the companies I met during this trip are making significant contributions in the areas of creating new industries, products and leapfrogging to Industry 4.0 (Fourth Industrial Revolution) by adopting smart manufacturing to transform our industries,” Aldaba said.
“We will try to reach out to more Japanese companies specializing in among others, electrified vehicles and parts, advanced manufacturing, factory automation, mobility solutions, and smart cities,” Angara-Mathay added.
During the forum, Aldaba stressed the efforts of the Philippines in promoting inclusive innovation growth through the collaboration of the government, academe and industry.
“[Our strategy] puts innovation at the heart of our industrial policies. Our goal is to grow globally competitive and innovative industries,” she said.