Japan’s Sogo Shosha investing P198.5 B in Phl

MANILA, Philippines -  Japan’s seven major trading houses, collectively known as the Sogo Shosha group, have expressed interest in investing P198.5 billion in various sectors seen essential in the economic development of the Philippines.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the Sogo Shosha group would  further venture and participate in trade partnerships with the Philippines, as relayed in a recent meeting between Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and the group’s senior executives in Japan.

The Sogo Shosha group consists of Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsui & Co. Ltd.,  Sumitomo Corp., Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp., Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz Corp.

According to the DTI, particular fields of interest for the group are in energy, railway and transportation, water management, and security.

These projects include a coal power plant, Philippine Coast Guard multi-role response vessels, capacity enhancements of mass transportation namely Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 South extension, LRT Line 2 East extension, North-South Commuter Railway Project, and possible development of transit systems in Davao, Cebu and Clark.

The DTI said the investments are expected to come in until 2018.

“Japanese investor remains confident of business prospects in the Philippines. We urge Japanese investors to take the chance to invest in the Philippines as it experiences its momentous economic takeoff in the region,” Lopez said.

Lopez was in Japan from Feb. 28 to March 3, for an investment forum and the 35th annual meeting of the Japan-Philippines Economic Cooperation Committee and Philippines-Japan Economic Cooperation Committee.

Aside from the investment interests from the Sogo Shosha group, Lopez said the country has received investment commitments from Japanese firms worth P25 billion.

These include three projects from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and an expansion project of Ichijo Co. Ltd.

Tsuneishi’s projects involve a 120-hectare ship reuse center in Negros Occidental, a biomass fuel project in Mindanao, and an international ship recycling facility that will be equipped with state of the art green technologies.