01 September 2018

Published also in Business Mirror

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its industry development and investments promotion arm—the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI)—signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shoko Chukin Bank Ltd. of Japan for a business cooperation on the promotion of investments on August 3 at the Laguna Technopark in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Signed by Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo (left) and Shoko Chukin Bank Ltd. Managing Executive Officer Takahisa Sato (right), the MOU establishes mutually beneficial cooperation to promote investment opportunities through investment seminars and missions; exchange information on doing business and industry structures; and other joint efforts that will foster economic and industrial linkages between investors and corporations from Japan and the Philippines.

With the signing of the MOU, Shoko Chukin Bank Ltd. plans to strengthen its existing public-private sector partnerships and build new ones for its 70,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Japan, while the DTI-BOI commits to handhold investors as they establish their businesses in the country starting from registration until full operationalization.

The DTI-BOI recognizes the need to collaborate with Japanese banks for institutional support mechanism given the growing interest and optimism of Japanese investors in the Philippine market.

To date, the agency has forged a total of four MOUs with Japanese banks, namely, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Resona Bank Ltd., Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ  Financial Group (MUFG) and Shoko Chukin Bank.

In 2017 Japan was the largest source of foreign direct investments that amounted to $634.67 million from $569.75 million in 2016. Manufacturing, real estate and financial and insurance activities were the top 3 industries that registered with the country’s investment promotion agencies.