The Board of Investments (BOI) led by Director for International Investment Promotion Service Ms. Angelica Cayas (4th from left) along with STR Dita Angara-Mathay, Commercial Counselor of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center – Tokyo (4th from right) pose with members of the Sanjo District International Association of Niigata Prefecture in Japan led by by Mr. Hisao Takanami (center) and Mr. Kiyosada Egawa(2nd from the right), President of Biotech Japan after the investment briefing held in Makati City.

Forays of DTI’s Field Office in Tokyo in Northern Japan bore fruit in the materialization of the first ever exploratory mission from Sanjo City in Niigata Prefecture, to the Philippines. The Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Tokyo, worked with the Board of Investments (BOI), Investment Promotion Group in setting up a DTI program for visiting Japanese delegates composed mostly of founder/owners of various SMEs in Niigata.

Taking its cue as one of Japan’s most famous city for metal works, an industry which dates back to the Edo Period, the Sanjo City Mission led by Mr. Hisao Takanami, President and CEO of Pearl Metal Co., Ltd., concurrently, Chairman of the Sanjo City International Communications Association, led the 19-member mission to the Philippines to participate in one of the country’s largest international fairs for manufacturing – the International Metalworking Philippines 2018 Exhibit at the World Trade Centre in Pasay City scheduled August 23-27.

Members of the delegation included Shimato Industrial (metal and plastic products manufacture), Sanka Co., (metal precision processing), Shidacho Co., (construction), Kaeriyama Corporation (metal surface processing), Seiwa Mold Co., (mold manufacturing), Echigo Holdings (automobile), Fuji Printing (printing), Nozaki Chugurou Shouten Co., (steel processng), Shindo Co., (metal precission processing), Azora Welfare Association, Sanjo Newspaper Co., (media), Sanjo Shinkin and Hokuetsun Banks (finance), Sanjo Chamber of Commerce and KNT-CT Holdings (travel).

The DTI program involved briefings on investment opportunities by BOI Director Angelica Cayas and Mary Anne Perez of PEZA, followed by a networking session with Philippine counterparts represented by officials of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), Electronics Industries Association of the Philippines (EIAPI), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (PCCI), Philippine Overseas Construction Board (POCB) and senior executives from the ITO-BPM (AD Parametrik, Pointwest, Printing (VJ Graphics), Logistics (Paragon), Manpower (Eligardi Enterprise), Automotive (Almazora, Kea), Mining (AGRC) and Electronics (Ioinics) sectors. The next two days were devoted to visits to factories in Bulacan (Manly) and Laguna (Ito Seisakusho and Applied Machining).

Commercial Counselor and Special Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay, invited a Niigata native, Mr. Kiyosada Egawa, Chairman of Biotech Japan (BTJ), to provide a testimony on his experience in setting up a business in the Philippines – from signing of a presidential visit LOI in 2015 to the commecial launch of his Echigo brand rice in the domestic market. BTJ set up a research and development (R&D) center and production facility in Batangas, hired Philippine scientists and nutritionists to use patented Japanese fermentation technology to develop dietary rice from a local Philippine rice strain, for kidney disease patients. Chairman Egawa hopes to use the Philippines as a springboard to ASEAN for the sales and distribution of Echigo rice, a product proudly made and processed in the Philippines.

STR Dita Angara-Mathay further explains,“We hope to ride the crest of the rising wave of Japanese SMEs migrating into the ASEAN region in search of new markets and technology partners. BTJ is a perfect example of how a DTI field office plays a highly effective role in shepherding a Japanese SME that ventured into unknown business territory, leveraged on a talented pool of workers, used indigenous material inputs, integrate these with Japanese technology to develop a new product with high social impact in agriculture (farmers) and medicine (patients) for the Philippine domestic market. From our country’s base we can expand to the region.”

She further added, “To further create value, we want Japanese firms to partner with like minded locals to co-create value through synergies that enhance capital efficiencies whether it be in intellectual capital, HR or finance. PTIC-Tokyo has been going around regions in Japan, establishing linkages with chambers, banks, LGUs and local companies because we want to convince them to embark on exploratory visits to the country and benefit from DTI programs which now integrate roundtables and networking sessions with prospective Philippine partners to the traditional welcome format of briefings and factory visits. The Post has in fact facilitated the signing of three MOUs with regional banks this year alone, with a fourth coming in the first quarter of 2019.”

Japanese investment approvals with the BOI for the last five years (2013-2017) totaled Php19.85 B, among the highest among foreign investors. In 2017, Japanese investment approvals reached Php8.9 B, which earned it top slot in the list of foreign investors. In the first seven months of 2018, Japanese businessmen invested Php2.65B, an exponential 1,443% increase from just Php171.4 M during the same period in 2017.♦

Date of Release: 24 September 2018