Japanese Co's to invest in Subic, Philippines due to English skills
More Japanese investors engaged in manufacturing and trading businesses have expressed serious intentions to invest in Subic Freeport following the state visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Japan.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Felicito C. Payumo said this after meeting with members of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan, composed of 80 companies based in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture.
Payumo was among the top Philippine government officials who accompanied President Arroyo in a state visit to Japan to strengthen economic ties between the two nations and to meet Japanese investors in the country.
Payumo, together with Subic Techno Park President Ichiro Tsuji, Sanyo Seiki (Japan) president Satoshi Fukushima and Harumi Kenzaki of Sanyo Denki explained before the Nagano businessmen why they chose Subic as the best investment site in the Philippines.
Tsuji, Fukushima and Kenzaki told the prospective SME businessmen that among the advantages of Subic Freeport that attracted them to Subic are strategic location for easier access and distribution of goods to the global market, improved roads and other infrastructure, a world-class airport and deep sea harbor and seaport facilities, and more importantly, the availability of highly skilled and educated English-speaking workers.
"Language barriers, which are a common problem in labor and management relations, have been eliminated because of the competency of highly educated English-speaking workers of Subic Freeport," Payumo explained.
Japanese investors added that Subic is an ideal site because of the presence of Federal Express offering fast and efficient international courier services and the Freeport status of Subic guaranteeing free flow of goods and merchandises without the tedious bureaucratic process.
Subic Freeport also offers incentives such as tax-free privileges and five per cent tax on gross income.
During the meeting, the Japanese investors also cited the peace and order situation in Subic having an effective and strict security measures to ensure the safety of investors.
Subic Freeport also has complete amenities such as housing and recreation facilities, international schools and clean environment for expatriates and their families to enjoy.
Payumo said that as a result of the meeting, members of the association would be visiting Subic Freeport to explore possibilities of putting up investments here.
Japanese investment in Subic takes another major development this Friday with the groundbreaking of phase 2 of the Japanese Industrial Park.
This expansion project of STEP covering 20 hectares at the Central Business District comes immediately after President Arroyo's state visit to Japan last week.
Barely two years after it broke ground on 4.3 hectares of prime land at the Japanese Subic Techno Park, Sanyo Denki Phils., is now the second largest manufacturing plant in Subic next to Taiwanese computer markets, Wistron Infocomm, a subsidiary of Acer Computers.
The company produces cooling systems for computers and other electronic products.
On the other hand, Sankyo Seiki, one of the biggest publicly-listed corporations in Japan, which manufactures high-speed precision electronic equipment, micro-computers for computer peripherals and other specialized digital core parts for multi-media and other businesses, is also growing fast, now employing 1,000 workers after it was inaugurated by President Arroyo last May.
This $100 million Japanese computer parts maker which has a projected annual export volume of $300 million will be providing up to 8,000 employment opportunities when fully operational.
