Marcos Secured 35 Investment Pledges From First Japan State Visit

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. said the Philippines settled 35 investment pledges from Japanese firms looking to expand their business portfolio in the country.

The president witnessed the signing of 35 letters of intent between the Philippine and Japanese governments, including Japanese firms.

Letters of intent would mean foreign companies interested in investing or expanding business operations in the Philippines may or may not translate to actual foreign direct investments in the future.

The business pledges are expected to create job opportunities for Filipinos should they take into effect from Japanese companies in industries such as energy, transportation, healthcare, renewable energy, and business expansion, among others.

“The government of the Philippines has been working to deepen the confidence in the Philippines of foreign investors and companies,” Marcos said.

The latest central bank data showed nearly 18% of FDIs in the Philippines in 2021 were from Japan. Similarly, the Philippines was the biggest recipient of Japanese official development assistance (ODA) in Southeast Asia from April 2021 to March 2022.

In Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation in 2022, he vowed to attract more foreign investors to set up their business operations here and make the country “an investment destination.”

“And it is our hope that companies such as yours will not only find the Philippines to be an attractive investment destination, we are designing our efforts to encourage you to stay and find our country to be a place where your businesses will thrive,” Marcos said.

The commitments of the signing with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida include an automobile manufacturing expansion project and a renewal to meet production targets with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.

Other pledges included a factory expansion project with Japan Tobacco Inc. and a printer manufacturing expansion project with Brother Industries, Ltd.; a hotel construction project with DoubleDragon Corporation/IwataChizaki Inc.; a new auto parts factory with Kurabe Industrial Co, Ltd.; and Marubenic Corporation for a project involving energy, transportation, healthcare, and reforestation projects.

Source: Philstar