President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Trade and Industry Secretary Fred Pascual sat down in a roundtable meeting on 9 February 2023 with 11 Japanese key players with export-oriented investments in the Philippines, particularly in the Semiconductor, Electronics, and Wiring Harnesses industries.
The meeting was a crucial part of the Presidential Visit to affirm and strengthen the robust economic partnerships between the Philippines and Japan.
Addressing the Japanese companies that attended the meeting, Secretary Pascual said, “With the demand expected to grow in the global market, we would like to explore how we can encourage you to expand and upgrade your operations in the Philippines.”
The manufacturing of semiconductors, electronics, and wiring harnesses is considered as one of the top contributors to the country’s economic growth. In 2021, the Philippines was the 4th largest exporter of wiring harness in the world after Mexico, China, and Romania. Global market share of wiring harness exports is 7%, equivalent to USD2.3 billion annual sales. Further, the Philippines is also one of the lowest cost producers of wiring harness in the world based on export value and quantity. Â
The Philippine electronics industry is classified into 73% Semiconductor Manufacturing Services (SMS) and 27% Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS). Most of the electronics businesses in the country operate in four key areas: Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Northern/Central Luzon and Cebu. These companies practice the best known methods in manufacturing, with capabilities ranging from IC packaging, PCB Assembly and Full Product Assembly.  The industry also employs over three million direct and indirect workers.
The companies represented during the meeting were Brother Industries, Ltd., IBIDEN Co., Ltd., Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson Corporation, NIDEC-SHIMPO Corporation, Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, TDK Corporation, Sumimoto Wiring Systems Ltd., Yazaki Corporation, Yokowo Co., Ltd., and Panasonic Corporation. The companies presented their current operations and future investment plans.
The dialogue enabled the investors to air their concerns and the Philippine Cabinet members to explain what are being done to resolve these.
Meanwhile, asked about updates on the renewal of the United States Generalized System of Preference (US GSP) which recently expired, Secretary Pascual noted that currently the Philippine government is exerting all efforts to lobby with the US government for the GSP reauthorization.
The GSP is important to Japanese companies exporting to the US for duty-free entry of their export products from the Philippines.
