Japanese IT firms to check business prospects in RP

Representatives of various Japanese information technology (IT) firms will visit the Philippines in September to explore possible outsourcing deals with local firms.

Trade and Industry Secretary Juan B. Santos has invited Japanese IT firms to partner with Philippine firms in meeting their software and programming requirements.

Santos extended the invitation during the recent All-Nippon IT Association Federation (ANIA) general assembly held in Nagoya, Japan early this month.

Santos spoke before the nearly 400 members of ANIA – the largest IT association in Japan – and presented the competitive advantages of the Filipino IT industry.

Santos said he hopes to increase the Philippine share in the estimated $14-billion Japanese IT market.

ANIA chairman Tadashi Tsuji explained that ANIA, composed of more than 600 members, is barely able to meet the huge Japanese market and are resorting to outsourcing mainly from China, Vietnam and India.

ANIA announced that it would send a delegation to visit Manila and Cebu sometime in September. Tsuji promised that he would head the Japanese delegation after Santos personally extended the invitation to him.

Earlier, Santos congratulated top officials of the Osaka-based M’s Corp. Manila. as well as Kato Manufacturing Corp. (KMC), for their decision to set up a software development center and a CAD/CAM center for automotive parts in Manila, respectively.

According to KMC, they can expand their manpower in Manila up to 100 CAD/CAM designers. They even plan to deploy up to 200 designers to Japan.

The DTI chief said local firms must grab this business opportunity to get a strong foothold into this Japanese sector.

At the same time, Santos said there is a need for local IT firms to upgrade their competencies and make their operations attractive for cooperative enterprise with the Japanese.

Santos noted that there are Japanese firms that have set shop in the country and there are some firms that have appreciated the country’s potential as an outsourcing base for their IT requirements.

To support the IT firms venture into the Japanese market, the DTI has embarked on a couple of programs in partnership with the private sector.

These include the e-Services Fair conducted by the Center of International Trade Expositions and Missions, the IT proficiency examination under the supervision of the Japanese IT Standard Examination (JITSE) and the Japanese language proficiency program sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

"Our firms have made inroads to the Japanese e-services market due to Filipino skilled manpower," Santos said. However, Santos said "we must also be competitive at other factors that Japanese companies consider which include cost efficient production and Japanese language skills."

According to a 2004 survey by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 20.1 percent of outsourcing firms in Japan outsource their job training; 19.7 percent, information systems; 17.4 percent, production processes; 14 percent for accountancy and tax affairs, and 13.7 percent of firms outsource for research and development.

Among the Japanese IT firms that have located in the country are: Astra (Philippines); Nihon Design Engineering Co. Ltd.; 10art-ni - IT Software Development; e-Venture Support; Fujitsu Philippines; I-Merge Online Inc.; JGC Philippines; MHI Tech; Micronet Software Manila; Mitsui & Co. Ltd.; Phil EDS Techno-Service Inc.; TOEI Animation; NEC Software; Tsukiden Software and WeServ System.