Japanese investors call for improvement, easing of business conditions

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Aug 28, 2017

MANILA, Philippines – The representative of Japanese businesses in the Philippines is asking the government to improve business conditions in the country to regain Japanese investor interest, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

“We are expecting that for the next five years, business environment will be improved and eased. These are key for the sustainable growth, especially for the manufacturing to come in again,” Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines president Hiroshi Shiraishi said.

Shiraishi said improving the country’s business environment is critical in bringing back Japanese investor interest to its peak level.

“So we wish to expect another gain in investor interest. We want Japanese companies to come and look for investments in the Philippines,” he said.

“The important thing is to improve the business environment and not only for public project but also for the private sector,” Shiraishi said.

Preliminary data from the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) showed Japan’s direct investment into the country plunged 56.6 percent to $561 million in the first five months.

On the other hand, Japanese investment in other Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore have risen by double digits in the same period.

In 2016, Japanese investment in the Philippines surged 52.1 percent to $2.31 billion from $1.52 billion in 2015, the Jetro data showed.

An industry source earlier told The STAR that certain policy changes such as the government’s pivot to China and Russia could be blamed partly for the slowdown in Japanese investments.

The source said Japanese investors were also threatened by the planned changes in the incentives currently being enjoyed by locators of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Japanese companies are among the biggest investors in PEZA-accredited zones.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, however, said Japanese companies continued to indicate strong confidence in the Duterte administration and the country’s good growth momentum “anchored on positive economic reforms and fundamentals.”