Phl, Japan ink $6-B business deals

TOKYO – At least 18 business deals representing roughly $6 billion in new investments have been signed by Philippine and Japanese firms in a development that officials said affirmed investor confidence in the Philippines.

President Duterte witnessed the signing yesterday of the agreements, which are expected to release Japanese investments in manufacturing, shipbuilding, iron and steel, agribusiness, power, renewable energy, transportation, infrastructure, mineral processing, retailing, information and communication technology, and business process management.

“President Duterte met several Japanese companies and witnessed several B-B MOUs (business-to-business memoranda of understanding) and letters of intent on investment plans, joint ventures and expansion of operations in the Philippines,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a statement.

“Total new investments (are expected to reach) $6 billion,” he added.

A list of companies that signed the agreement was not available as of yesterday, but presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the deals would be undertaken by “big multinational” and “Filipino giant” corporations.

“If I’m not mistaken, there were at least 18 agreements that were witnessed by the President today,” Roque said in a chance interview here.

“I think it’s because there is, number one, commercial predictability; number two, there is peace and order in the Philippines and there is a conducive business environment where businesses are safe from unjust taking,” he added.

Roque said the signing of business deals also highlighted the “very strong” relations between the Philippines and Japan.

“It also proves that Japan continues to be one of our most active trading partners,” he said.

Among the companies that signed business deals are the Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments, which forged agreements with Hitachi and Itochu. The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan was also scheduled to meet with Japanese firms NTT, Rakuten, Itochu, Mitsui, Marubeni, Densan and Hitachi.

Lopez said he also met with his Japanese counterpart Hiroshige Seko to discuss ways to improve market access and lower tariff for Philippine agricultural products like banana, pineapple and mango.

Asked about the Japanese trade minister’s reaction to his request to lower the tariff for Philippine agricultural exports, Lopez replied: “They took note of that and it’s to be discussed in detail in the technical working groups under JPEPA (Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement).”

JPEPA is the bilateral trade agreement between the Philippines and Japan.

It was signed by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi in Helsinki, Finland in September 2006.

The agreement assures zero duties for more than 90 percent of Philippine exports to Japan and is expected to enhance the access of Filipino service workers to the Japanese market.

It also requires the removal of tariffs by both Japan and the Philippines on almost all industrial goods within 10 years from the date of its implementation.

The two trade chiefs also tackled the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue and ways to improve the supply chain for Japanese companies to benefit Philippine small and medium enterprises.