Made in Japan: Marcos brings home $13B investment deals from Japan
Filipinos go to Japan and bring home everything there is to love about the Land of the Rising Sun — from souvenir kimonos to fans, matcha to or a wide variety of Japanese chocolates. But in the case of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., he brought home a package of investments, official development assistance, and other economic benefits.
He counted $13 billion worth of investments from his Japan trip.
“I think all of the projects that were in the pipeline, we were able to finalize all of them on this trip. So that’s a good result, I think, from this trip,” Marcos said upon arrival.
Marcos went to Japan for a threeday visit last Feb. 8 to 12 upon the invitation of His Excellency Kishida Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan.
The visit reflected the strong and much cherished friendship between Japan and the Philippines, underscored by friendly and historical ties woven through decades of exchanges between the two peoples and upheld by shared fundamental values of freedom, democracy, respect for fundamental human rights, and the rule of law.
In the area of investments, Marcos said the Philippines and its private sector signed 35 agreements with Japan and Japanese companies in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, energy, transportation, manufacturing and healthcare.
Although these deals between Philippine companies and their Japanese counterparts have been under negotiations for some time already prior to Marcos’ official trip, they were signed just the same at the time of the visit.
For sure, these agreements are important and they cover important areas such as infrastructure, energy, automotive, electronics and property.
Included in the list of 35 agreements signed is the contract between DoubleDragon Corp. and Japanese contractor Iwata Chizaki Inc. for the construction of DoubleDragon’s upcoming Hotel101-Niseko in Hokkaido Japan.
DoubleDragon chairman Edgar “Injap” Sia II and his DoubleDragon co-chairman Tony Tan Caktiong signed the agreement with Iwata Keigo, president and CEO of Iwata Chizaki, one of the major contractors in Japan and the same contractor who built the Chitose International Airport in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
The signing moves DoubleDragon a step closer to building Hotel101Niseko, which will be the first Hotel101 outside the Philippines. Sia’s plan is to establish Hotel101 globally as the homegrown Filipino hotel brand similar to brands of other countries such as Holiday Inn for the US, Novotel for Europe, and Jinjiang Inn for China.
Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp. and Hitachi likewise signed an agreement for the development, construction, and operation of desalination facilities to supply potable water in Metropolitan Cebu.
No less than Filinvest Development Corp. president Josephine Gotianun-Yap joined the trip to sign the agreement with Hitachi.
Yap said that in Cebu alone, about 120,000 households in over 40 barangays in the cities of Cebu, Talisay and Lapu-lapu are expected to benefit.
Another agreement is that of Japanese toy maker Tamiya which plans to build a P1.5 billion new factory in Cebu for plastic models and remote control cars.
The new factory would increase output by five percent over three years and increase capacity by 20 percent depending on demand.
Yet another agreement is by the Villar Group, which will expand its partnership with Mitsubishi Estate Corp. (MEC).
Tycoon Manuel B. Villar, who joined President Marcos’ visit to Tokyo, Japan said he signed an agreement with MEC as part of the Philippine business delegation, along with other tycoons.
“As part of the business delegation, I signed an agreement with our Japanese counterpart, Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd., among the 35 letters of intent and agreement signed during this very productive trip,” Villar said.
In 2020, MEC, an affiliate of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp. made its foray in the Philippines’ residential market through a partnership with the Villar Group.
The Villar Group’s Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. (VLL) said the partnership brings together two of the largest real estate firms from different parts of Asia.
The latest agreement strengthens a deal signed in 2020 for a 60:40 joint venture company between VLL’s vertical development arm Vista Residences Inc. (VRI) and Mitsubishi Estate Residence Co., Ltd. to develop a mixed-use, high-rise condominium along Taft Avenue, Manila.
Tycoon Alfred Ty, for his part, was also part of the business delegation to Japan. He led the signing of the property development agreement between Nomura Real Estate Development and the Ty’s GT Capital Holdings as well as Toyota Motor Corp.s light commercial vehicle manufacturing project.
‘The leaders likewise welcomed the progress of the Japan-funded Metro Manila Subway Project and aimed for its inauguration during the Marcos presidency.’
UPPER MIDDLE INCOME
Outside these investments, Prime Minister Kishida underscored the intention of the Government of Japan to support the Philippines in attaining Upper Middle Income (UMIC) status by 2025, in line with the “Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028” through the active contribution of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and private-sector investment of JPY600 billion in Japanese Fiscal Years 2022 to 2023.
Furthermore, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines said Prime Minister Kishida expressed Japan’s intention to contribute to the development of quality transport infrastructure in the Philippines in light of the “Build Better More” program of the Marcos administration, as well as equitable regional development in the Philippines including Mindanao.
The leaders likewise welcomed the progress of the Japan-funded Metro Manila Subway Project and aimed for its inauguration during the Marcos presidency.
The leaders commended the signing of the Exchange of Notes concerning a yen loan provision, worth JPY377 billion for the development of the North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and its extension. In addition, Prime Minister Kishida stated that the Government of Japan stands ready to extend an additional loan for further maintenance and rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).
In all, Marcos was able to bring home these benefits and more from Japan.
How these agreements would impact on the lives of Filipinos remains to be seen.