On the sidelines of his four-day State Visit to Japan, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. successfully secured an estimated PhP56.3 billion in potential investments following a series of high-level meetings with major Japanese corporations on Thursday.
The investment pledges span several critical growth sectors, including advanced electronics manufacturing, semiconductor production, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technologies, shipbuilding, and green maritime industries. Collectively, these expansion projects are projected to generate approximately 10,300 direct and indirect jobs across the Philippines, significantly boosting the administration’s economic and employment agenda.
“These partnerships underscore the growing confidence of global tech and industrial leaders in the economic trajectory of the Philippines,” President Marcos said. “By expanding operations in cutting-edge fields like AI infrastructure, advanced semiconductors, and green shipping, we are not only creating high-quality jobs for our workforce but also positioning the Philippines as a vital, competitive hub in the global supply chain.”
Key highlights from the separate bilateral meetings include:
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Elevating the Philippine Shipbuilding Industry: President Marcos met with executives from Tsuneishi Group Corporation to discuss the expansion of their local shipbuilding facilities. Upon completion, this expansion is projected to elevate the Philippines into the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilding nation, trailing only China, Japan, and South Korea.
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Powering Next-Gen AI and Digital Infrastructure: Executives from Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. presented a proposed expansion project at the Laguna Technopark. The project aims to increase the production of advanced heat sink modules and thermal management products. These high-performance cooling technologies are critical for global data center processing units (CPUs and GPUs) struggling to meet the soaring demand driven by generative AI.
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Strengthening Global Tech Supply Chains: A meeting with Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. focused on a PhP4.3-billion expansion project in advanced electronics. Through its local unit, First Sumiden Circuits, Inc. (FSCI)—the country’s sole manufacturer of flexible printed circuits—the company will construct a new 4,706-square-meter facility in Cabuyao, Laguna. This move is set to fortify the Philippines’ role in global supply chains for electric vehicles (EVs), advanced telecommunications, and AI-related hardware.
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Driving Semiconductor and Precision Manufacturing: MinebeaMitsumi Inc. outlined its ongoing and planned local investments covering semiconductor back-end manufacturing and optical image stabilization (OIS) technologies. The company’s analog semiconductor and precision manufacturing operations in Cebu will scale up to supply high-end smartphone camera actuators and battery protection modules for hyperscale data centers.
These strategic investments reflect a shared commitment to building greener, more technologically advanced industries, firmly anchoring the Philippines’ role in the future of the global digital economy.
