Japanese companies reaffirmed their investment commitments in the Philippines and will soon finalize their expansions here as soon as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) bill is enacted into law.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Acting Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque told reporters in a Viber message Wednesday that she met with high executives from five companies during her first overseas trip as trade chief last week.

These companies included Itochu Corp., MinebeaMitsumi, Inc., Marubeni Corp., AEON Retail Co., Ltd., and the Japan Institute of Design and Promotion.

“They expressed that the Philippines is very important for them now and their business with the Philippines is growing and they look forward to more investments in our country especially now that the CREATE MORE bill will soon be signed by the President,” Roque said.

Last Sept. 10, the congressional bicameral conference committee approved the CREATE MORE bill, which aims to further cut the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from 25 percent.

Japanese manufacturers in the country have been expressing their issues on the value-added tax (VAT) refund system because of the CREATE law implementing rules and regulations.

CREATE MORE bill seeks to clarify the VAT refund system.

“They expressed that there are expansion plans in the near future because of the CREATE MORE bill as well as the increase in sales and expansion of these companies. The expansions will provide more jobs,” Roque said.

For Itochu, the company is eyeing to increase its production of food products here including dried mangoes, banana puree, and other processed fruits, and export these products to Japan.

The acting DTI chief also urged Itochu to diversify its food production here and exports to Japan to halal products.

Moreover, MinebeaMitsumi’s future expansion here will be in semiconductor manufacturing.

On the other hand, Roque discussed potential collaborations on projects promoting renewable energy, resource conservation, and climate resilience with Marubeni, while also expressing its interest in increasing food and non-food products imports from the Philippines. (PNA)