PHL set to bring home P300B worth of business deals from upcoming Duterte Japan trip — DTI

Philippine and Japanese firms are set to ink business agreements with a cumulative worth close to P300 billion later this week, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Monday.

According to the DTI, there will be over 20 business agreements which will be signed at the sidelines of President Rodrigo Duterte's trip to Japan for Nikkei's 24th International Conference on the Future of Asia on May 30 and 31.

The investment pledges will be mostly in infrastructure, manufacturing, electronics, medical devices, and business process outsourcing (BPO).

It will also cover electricity, transport, automotive, food manufacturing, and marine manpower industries.

"Japanese investors remain bullish on the sustained growth momentum under the administration of President Duterte, given its aggressive infrastructure build-up, meaningful investment and financial reforms and demographic advantages," said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who is scheduled to witness the signing of the agreements.

To recall, Japan was the second largest trading partner of the Philippines last year, with total trade of $20 billion — $9.5-billion worth of exports to Japan, and $10.5-billion worth of imports from Japan.

Japan is also the country's third major export market and import supplier.

Just last week, Japan-led Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will co-finance up to $2 billion with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the North-South Commuter Railway. — RSJ, GMA News