The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Philippine Trade & Investment Center (PTIC) in Osaka recently concluded a series of activities in Osaka and Okayama, last December 7-9, 2022, as part of joint efforts with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to encourage Japanese companies to locate in the Philippines and help boost the country’s manufacturing supply chain and ecosystem.
Japan’s SMEs are the lifeblood of its country’s massive economy, comprising 99.7% of all businesses. The DTI aggressively engages these companies to encourage them to establish a second base in the Philippines to support the operations of major Japanese companies already located in the country, in a win-win partnership that will significantly boost Philippines’ manufacturing supply chain and industrial ecosystem, while also supporting the growth and market expansion of said Japanese firms.
The highlight of the roadshow was the Philippine Investment Forum in Okayama which was organized by the PTIC Osaka in partnership with the Okayama International Business Association (OIBA) at the Okayama International Conference Center. The investment forum gathered around 70 top executives of Okayama prefecture-based companies and prominent business leaders actively exploring potentials of expanding their operations to other countries – particularly the Philippines, in a bid to improve their global competitiveness and production capacity.
The roadshow also held a series of meetings with DTI’s institutional strategic partners such as the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Osaka Business Development Agency (OBDA), and the Osaka Prefectural Government (OPG) to discuss future collaboration and joint initiatives such as exchanges of business missions and promotion of shared objectives, as well as in optimizing the Philippine participation at the World Expo 2025 that will be held in Osaka.
The Philippine business delegation also met with Japanese companies based in Osaka that are either already established in the Philippines and planning to expand operations, or new investment leads looking to set up their Philippine operations to take advantage of the country’s comparative advantages particularly our highly-skilled talent pool.
