PH, Japan firms to sign P300-B business deals during Duterte visit
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 27 May 2019 09:00:48 +0000
TOKYO, Japan – Filipino and Japanese companies are set to sign to sign over 20 business agreements worth P300 billion which are expected to generate 80,000 jobs in the Philippines.
According to Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, the signing will take place on the sidelines of President Duterte’s participation at the 25th International Conference on The Future of Asia here sponsored by Nikkei from May 30 to 31.
“The Department of Trade and Industry is consistently pursuing investments from all countries to provide decent employment opportunities to Filipinos. This is part of President Duterte’s ‘Tapang at Malasakit’ approach to nation-building and DTI’s priorities, summed up as ‘Trabaho, Negosyo, Konsyumer,’” Lopez said.
The Trade and Industry Secretary and his counterpart will witness the signing of the business agreements.
According to Lopez, Japanese investors remain bullish on the sustained growth momentum under the Duterte administration, given its aggressive infrastructure build-up, meaningful investment and financial reforms, and demographic advantages.
The signed investment pledges will mostly be in infrastructure, manufacturing, electronics, medical devices, business process outsourcing, power, electricity, transport, automotive, food manufacturing, and marine manpower industries.
Lopez said the Department of Trade and Industry will also hold a business forum and roundtable discussions to have a closer dialogue with the Japanese investors and an opportunity for greater business-to-business interactions.
In 2018, Japan was the Philippines’ second major trading partner with total trade of $20 billion, $9.5-billion worth of exports to Japan, and $10.5-billion worth of imports from Japan. The country is the Philippines’ third major export market and import supplier.
The Department of Foreign Affairs had earlier said the no bilateral agreement will be signed between the two countries.
Duterte will arrive here tonight. This will be his third visit to the Land of the Rising Sun since becoming President in 2016. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)