BDO Unibank Inc. has partnered with Japan’s Ashikaga Bank Ltd. (ABL) to help over 70,000 Japanese firms access various financing products and services for their expansion projects in the Philippines.

ABL is the 17th Japanese financial partner of BDO under its Japan Desk which was established in 2007.

In a statement on Wednesday, BDO said it formalized the partnership with ABL through the signing of a memorandum of understanding on 23 December 2024.

“ABL expects to grow its roster of customers in the Philippines with new investments and business matching deals,” the local bank said.

“BDO’s Japan Desk has grown, with Japanese speaking personnel dedicated to market and service Japanese companies operating in the Philippines,” BDO continued.

Multinationals upbeat

BDO said its new partnership with ABL reflects the upbeat outlook by multinational institutions for the Philippine economy.

The International Monetary Fund expects the local economy to grow by 6.1 percent this year and by 6.3 percent in the next on the back of the government’s aggressive spending on infrastructure and reforms on investment policies.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Japan posted the third largest investment pledges for the Philippines in the third quarter of 2024 at P15.96 billion or 10.9 percent of all pledges.

The manufacturing sector received the bulk of the investments, followed by electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning. The third biggest recipient was real estate.

More Japanese after the CREATE passage

Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto expects more Japanese investors to flock to the Philippines after the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act.

The law exempts export-oriented firms from paying value-added tax, offers more attractive incentives for investments worth over P15 billion, and doubles the power expense deduction for manufacturing firms.

“We envision CREATE MORE to give birth to more thriving economic corridors in every corner of the Philippine archipelago, with Japan taking a leading role,” Recto said.