BusinessWorld Online Edition |Japanese firms eyeing shift need a ‘good environment’

BusinessWorld Online Edition |Japanese firms eyeing shift need a ‘good environment’: "Japanese firms eyeing shift need a ‘good environment’

POWER SUPPLY and infrastructure issues have to be addressed by the government if it wants to attract Japanese companies looking to relocate their quake-hit factories, an embassy official said.
'With [a] good environment, they might be encouraged to shift production in the Philippines,' said Shinzuke Shimizu, head of chancery at the Japanese embassy, in an interview last Friday.
President Benigno S. C. Aquino III last month ordered the Trade department to consider lobbying Japanese firms to pull up stakes after a massive earthquake and tsunami caused plant shutdowns and supply disruptions.
'A serious concern is stable electricity. Some electronic products need constant, regular electricity,' Mr. Shimizu told BusinessWorld.
He also cited Metro Manila’s heavy traffic, which makes transporting goods from areas south of the metropolis to the north difficult.
'If these are improved, Japanese companies may consider investing in the Philippines,' Mr. Shimizu said.
A representative of the local Japanese business chamber, meanwhile, said the country offered some advantages. An investments official also said the Philippines was ready to welcome additional Japanese investments."