THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said its roadshows to Tokyo and Osaka generated investment feelers from Japanese companies seeking to expand their current Philippine operations.
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said in a statement on Tuesday that the PEZA visited Osaka and Tokyo between July 16 and 22.
The expressions of interest included those from Ichijo Corp. to finalize expansion plans in 2024, along with possible expansion plans for ShinEtsu Corp., OB Kogyo, Ltd., and NEC Networks & System Integration Corp.,” Mr. Panga said.
Mr. Panga said that Ichijo Corp., a builder of energy-efficient, sustainable homes, aims to increase its annual capacity for Philippine-built components to the equivalent of 20,000 units in 2024 from 15,000 previously. In the process it projects the creation of 3,000 to 4,000 additional jobs in addition to the current staffing level of 23,000.
Die and mold company OB Kogyo Ltd. also declared its intent to reinvest $3 million in a Philippine plant over the next three years, also to enhance capacity.
ShinEtsu Corp., produces and researches high-performance rare earth magnets, also expressed interest in a possible expansion to service the global electric vehicle industry.
PEZA said it approved P20.59 billion worth of Japanese investments in the first six months. These were made by Green Energy with Torrefaction Technology, Inc., Asian Transmission Corp., and Pricon Microelectronics, Inc.
The three Japanese investments are expected to lead to the creation of 1,973 direct jobs.
“To date, 881 Japanese companies are registered with PEZA, bringing in P766.550 billion worth of investments in the country, with exports of $5.362 billion and generating up to 340,601 direct jobs for Filipinos,” Mr. Panga said.
The PEZA logged P80.59 billion worth of investment approvals in the first six months, up 258% from a year earlier.
For 2023, the PEZA is targeting 10% growth in investment approvals after logging P140.7 billion in 2022. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave