PRESIDENT FERDINAND R. Marcos Jr. on Friday assured the Japanese business community that his administration is pursuing "vital and game-changing" reforms to improve the business climate in the Philippines.
Marcos made the guarantee, as he expressed elation over the signing of 35 letters of intent (LOIs) and agreements between the Philippines and Japan on the third day of his official visit to Tokyo.
"I once again will thank you for considering the Philippines as a place and as a partner to grow your businesses," he said in a speech delivered before the Japanese investors.
"The government of the Philippines has been working to deepen the confidence in the Philippines of foreign investors and companies. We have been advancing vital and game-changing reforms to improve the country's business environment."
The LOIs and deals signed between the governments of the Philippines and Japan, as well as different business companies from both nations, cover a wide range of partnerships aimed at deepening foreign investor confidence.
These include key sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure development, energy, transportation, health care, renewable energy, and business expansion.
The Philippine government, Marcos said, is capitalizing on economic liberalization laws and strategic reforms to attract foreign investments and facilitate ease of doing business in the country.
He noted that several laws, including the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Public Service Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the provisions of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act offer "more encouraging" incentives to support foreign businesses, including those from Japan.
"And it is our hope that companies such as yours will not only find the Philippines to be an attractive investment destination. We are designing our efforts to encourage you to stay and to find our country to be a place where your businesses will thrive," he said. "I look forward to our follow-through on our engagements today. Together, we can make investments happen in the Philippines."
Marcos said he is thankful for the foreign businesses' "continuing interest and confidence" in the Philippines.
The President assured that his administration's eight-point socioeconomic agenda would help sustain the "steady recovery and high growth trajectory" of the Philippine economy.
"On a national scale, we have built confidence in our eight-point socioeconomic agenda. The set of agenda will reinforce the Philippine economy's steady recovery and high growth trajectory," he said.
"We build our efforts around the intentions to further promote investments, improve infrastructure, achieve energy security, create jobs, and develop priority industries."
Marcos told the Japanese investors that the government has eased restrictions on foreign nationals to own businesses in the Philippines, adding that it is also enabling cross-cutting mechanisms to ease investments.
"Very soon, you can expect reduced transaction costs in aspects of doing business in the Philippines," he said.
He also emphasized the importance of the establishment of a "green lane" to streamline the processing of permits and licenses.
"We are prescribing a maximum of three working days for simple transactions and 20 working days for highly-technical transactions. This will also offer a single point of entry for strategic investments," he said.
The business agreements signed include a wiring harness manufacturing expansion project with Asti Corporation; a printer manufacturing expansion project with Brother Industries, Ltd.; a hotel construction project with DoubleDragon Corporation/IwataChizaki Inc.; and a factory expansion project with Japan Tobacco Inc.
Also included in the list of deals are a new factory for auto parts with Kurabe Industrial Co, Ltd.; energy, transportation, healthcare and afforestation projects with Marubeni Corporation; and automobile manufacturing expansion project and a commitment renewal to meet production targets with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. (Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos)
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