Japanese firms coming back to Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Big ticket investors from Japan have found new interest in putting stakes in the Philippines.

This was disclosed by Kengo Mizuno, executive director of the Manila branch of the Nomura Research Institute of Japan, in a forum on trade and investments held at the Penthouse of the BOI building in Makati recently.

Last year alone, Mizuno said, four newcomers pumped in $314 million in investments while expansion projects by earlier locators have injected another $735 million for total Japanese investments of $1.49 billion.

?The newcomers included Brother which set up its $54 million printer factory in Batangas; Canon which invested $220 million also in Batangas; Lion, a healthcare company based in Laguna; and Murata, maker of ceramic condenser that invested $40 million also in Batangas.

The biggest investor was Yokohama, a Japanese tire maker, which expanded its factory at the Clark Freeport. It sank in $625 million in its expansion project. Epson, a familiar manufacturer of printers also expanded its factory in Batangas in the amount of $110 million.

Mizuno said that those final assembly manufacturers will be needing suppliers soon. And he expects more suppliers to locate in the country.

The Nomura executive suggested that Philippine investment promotion officials should target ship builders in Japan to also relocate their facilities in the Philippines, the same way the country has lured in Korean and Singaporean ship builders.

Recent events including the earthquake in Japan and floods in Thailand have combined to make the Philippines one of the most interesting investment havens in the East Asian region again, he pointed out.

He said there are still 19 member companies of the Shipbuilders Association of Japan that are active in ship building there. Only two have relocated to China and the Philippines. He said that manufacturing costs have gone too high in Japan.

“Shipbuilding may trigger investments by steel makers,” he said.

This could happen when shipbuilders in a country have activities that create a critical mass of demand for basic steel products. – PHILEXPORT News and Features