Japanese industrial park to double dividends for SBMA

Japanese developer partners at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) have agreed to double the dividend payments for the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which will amount to almost US$1-million.

This was revealed by SBMA Chairman and Administrator Jonathan D. Tan. The consensus came about during a STEP board meeting held in Tokyo, Japan on November 17, 2023.  STEP is a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the SBMA, Japan International Development Organization (JAIDO) and Toyo Construction Co. Ltd. (TOYO) that was executed in April 1996. The JVA was executed for the planning, development, construction, operation and maintenance of STEP’s 74-hectare industrial estate inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

As agreed in the JV, SBMA will maintain the 49.97% share equity and Japanese developers led by STEP President Ichiro Tsuji and his associates will have 50.03% equity.

Moreover, Tan cited that last year, the SBMA only received dividends of almost half million USD from STEP. This year, the official shared that the agency stands to receive dividends in the amount of $999,333.64.

Chairman Tan and SBMA Director Kenneth G. Rementilla led the SBMA delegation during the Tokyo board meeting recently. The two represented the agency and are nominees to the STEP.

President Tsuji disclosed that over the years, STEP has worked diligently to achieve its vision as evidenced by the presence of eight major Japanese locators and ten smaller companies, collectively occupying more than 70% of the leasable areas within the industrial estate.

“This, in turn, has led to the employment of approximately 10,000 local and foreign workers, who significantly contribute to the growth of the local economy,” he added.

Meanwhile, companies inside the STEP are now expanding their operations due to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (Create) law. One of the companies, Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation, is set to generate employment from its P4.2-billion expansion project in this Freeport.

Nidec Subic President Takeshi Yamamoto said that the company’s expansion project is already seen to generate close to 5,000 jobs until the last incentivized year as the Japanese manufacturing firm currently has a workforce of 622.

Japanese firm Sanyo Denki also held a groundbreaking for a 30-hectare complex for its US$10 million expansion of its computer parts manufacturing this year inside the STEP. Sanyo Denki is expected to hire additional 1,000 workers initially for the production of computer parts that are exported globally. (MPD/SBMA)

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₱4-B Nidec Subic Investment to generate close to 5,000 jobs in the Freeport

Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation will soon be opening approximately 5,000 jobs from its expansion here in Subic Bay Freeport.

This was disclosed by Nidec President Takeshi Yamamoto in a simple awarding ceremony of the Certificate of Registration (COR) with Incentives under the CREATE law to Japanese company Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation for its ₱4.2-billion expansion project.

While Nidec Subic currently has a workforce of 622 employees, the company’s expansion project is expected to generate close to 5,000 job opportunities until the last incentivized year.

Yamamoto proudly shared that the company chose Subic Bay Freeport for its expansion due to its strategic location, making it possible for them to market their product to the European Union, United States, Brazil, Korea and China.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Jonathan D. Tan led the simple ceremony, together with Senior Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment (SDA) Renato Lee III and Business and Investment Department (BID) for Manufacturing and Maritime manager Karen Magno, in awarding the COR to Nidec Subic President Yamamoto and General Manager Marissa Tamayo.

Tan explained that Kinematix is a new product that is a high accuracy gearbox used as base, arm or shoulder for industrial robots for auto tool changer/ loader of machines. He added that the aim of the expansion of Nidec Subic Philippines is to produce these gearboxes outside of Japan.

“This is certainly a milestone for Subic Freeport as this new product will be solely manufactured by Nidec Subic,” the official cited, adding that these gearboxes will be “Gawang Pinoy.”

He further stated that this is the first expansion of the company outside of Japan which was made possible due to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) law, revealing that the tax incentives have made it easier for them to expand in the Philippines.

Lee explained that the CREATE law has enabled the granting of the company tax incentives namely: a six-year income tax holiday; ten-year special corporate income tax; 16-year Customs Duty Exemption on Importation of Capital Equipment, Raw Materials, Spare Parts and Accessories; 16-year value-added tax (VAT) zero-rating on local purchase; and a 16-year VAT exemption on importation.

Meanwhile, Tamayo also averred that the company decided to expand its operations in the Philippines because of its highly-skilled and resilient Filipino labor force, plus the fact that the Philippines is an English-speaking country.

Nidec Subic is a Japanese manufacturing company that was established inside Subic Freeport on July 14, 1998. It is located at the Subic Technopark, Argonaut Highway, Boton Area, occupying a total of 96,472 square meters of land area.

The expansion project dubbed as Project Kinematix aims to manufacture and assemble medium to large size gearboxes for industrial robotics gears. Valued at ₱5.065 billion, Nidec will be directly exporting 100% of its annual production of 288,000 gearboxes overseas. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic locator gets FIRB nod for duties, tax incentives

Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation, a registered enterprise here, gained the unanimous approval of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) in an en banc meeting last Friday, May 26.  

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Jonathan D. Tan reported that Nidec Subic had previously passed the scrutiny of the eight agency-member FIRB Technical Committee on May 18. 

He said that with the approval of the FIRB en banc, Nidec Subic will be entitled to Income Tax Holiday for six years, Special Corporate Income Tax for ten years, Duty-Exemption on Importation for 16 years, Value-Added Tax (VAT) Exemption on Importation for 16 years, and VAT Zero-Rating on Local Purchase for 16 years. 

Tan added that Nidec’s application for the said incentives complies with Republic Act No. 11534, or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), which aims to “develop the national economy towards global competitiveness by implementing tax policies instrumental in attracting investments.” 

The FIRB is an inter-agency government body authorized by the Philippine law to grant tax incentives to registered business enterprises, whose powers and functions was enhanced under CREATE law.

Meanwhile, SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Business & Investment Renato Lee III disclosed that the FIRB-approved incentives would be applicable to Nidec Subic’s Project Kinematex, which would involve the manufacture and assembly of medium- to large- size gearboxes for industrial robotics gears. 

Lee added that the ₱4.2-billion project’s product line is a high accuracy gearbox used as base, arm or shoulder for industrial robots and for auto tool changer/loader of machines. For this project alone, Nidec Subic will employ a maximum of 1,074 workers.

“We are taking this investor confidence as an opportunity to attract more foreign investors to make it happen in the Philippines while it is the top 10^th in the world’s most promising destinations of foreign investments in the next three years, according to the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD),” Lee said. 

He said that this project would immediately commence this June to produce and export 288,000 pieces annually at the peak of production, valued at ₱ 5.064 billion.

Project Kinamatex is an expansion project of Nidec Subic, which landed the top four biggest expansion project in SBF in terms of additional investments in 2022. 

Nidec Subic is primarily engaged in manufacturing and assembly of reducer gears for robotic application and home appliances since 1999, and currently employs 622 workers. (MPD-SBMA) 

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SBMA lauds PBBM signing of ₱4.2-B Nidec Subic’s new venture

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) lauded the signing of Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation’s venture into a new product, which will infuse an additional ₱4.2 billion.

In his recent official visit to Japan, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed the contract with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who invited him to Japan during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York back in September.

“We are very thankful for President Marcos’ successful official trip to Japan where he signed another blessing for us in the Subic Bay Freeport because this will create more jobs for our community, and bring better industrial peace,” SBMA Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino said.

Paulino added that the President's five-day trip to Japan entailed reaffirming the strong and vibrant relations between the two countries, as well as maximizing its partnership thru defense, security, political, economic, and people-to-people ties.

“This new venture by Nidec Subic is a validation of the foreign investors’ strong confidence in the leadership of President Marcos, and in the Subic Bay Freeport, especially now that we have adopted a Fast, Friendly and Flexible customer service. Because of that, we are now expecting to draw more foreign investments to make it happen in the Philippines, particularly in Subic,” he said.

According to the SBMA Business and Investment Department for Manufacturing and Maritime, Nidec Subic will be producing precision gearboxes that ensure smooth and efficient gear operation in a wide range of applications such as robotics, aerospace and solar tracking. It will initially require 1,074 workers.  

Nidec is the world’s top manufacturer of small precision motors, and currently maintains the largest market share in the world for spindle motors, which rotate disks and are at the heart of hard disk drives used in personal computers.

In 2019, Nidec Subic launched their expansion program to produce industrial robotic gears with an actual investment worth US$250 million, generating additional employment of 632.

The company ventured into manufacturing reduction gears which are considered vital in controlling the speed and traction of electronic equipment.

Nidec Subic was named among the top ten exporters of 2022 with an export value totaling to US$49.43 million. (MPD-SBMA) 

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Japanese manufacturing company eyes ₱4B expansion in Subic

Japanese company Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation, manufacturer of reducer gears for robotic application, is eyeing a P4-billion expansion project inside its manufacturing site at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) in this premier Freeport zone.

According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino, the expansion will generate employment to some 3,400 skilled workers as the company intends to engage into producing a new product called Flexwave, a middle-sized speed reducer for robots.

Paulino disclosed that the company plans to increase the number of workers from its current 625 to 4,028 once the expansion project has been completed by 2025. This is to fulfill its production target of 350,000 per year, all of which will be exported to the USA, Europe, Japan, Korea, China, India, and Brazil.

“The number of skilled workers in the Freeport’s adjacent communities is certainly in high demand. The SBMA will help in any way it can to provide the company the manpower needed for its expansion operation,” he added.

The SBMA chief lauded Nidec Subic for showing their confidence with the SBMA and pursuing its goal to make it happen in the Philippines, even choosing the Subic Bay Freeport to implement the expansion project.

The said expansion will entail two phases. First phase will be the renovation of two of their buildings, which are expected to be completed by third quarter of 2022. Second phase will be the construction of a new building, which is expected to be completed by November or December of 2022.

During the height of the pandemic, the firm had to cut down on its employees due to the closure of their base production of spindle motors to ensure the financial stability of the company.

As a result, the company retrenched 70 percent of its workforce due to the adverse effect on the global economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company was forced to give 784 workers their separation pay.

Meanwhile, Chairman Paulino assured Nidec Subic that the SBMA is keen on helping them find skilled workers for the imminent expansion as the SBMA recently signed an agreement with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to establish a skills training and assessment center to train potential workers who will complement workforce requirements of industries in the Freeport. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic kicks off vaccination of economic frontliners

The vaccination drive for economic frontliners in the country began in this Freeport on Tuesday with five workers at Nidec Subic Philippines Corp. getting their first shot of Covid-19 vaccine in a ceremonial launch.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Wilma T. Eisma said the vaccination program is expected to snowball among the registered business locators here and help bring about Subic’s economic revival. 

“This undertaking is very important because the workers are the backbone of the economy and it is important that we maintain their well-being and safety at all times,” she also said.

The ceremonial vaccination was organized by the SBMA, the Department of Health (DOH), the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF), and the Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Secretary Vince Dizon, who is deputy chief implementer of the National Action Plan Against COVID-19, witnessed the ceremony along with Eisma, DOH Undersecretary Roger Tong-an, Zambales Vice Governor Jay Khonghun, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who also conducted a press briefing later at the vaccination site.

Among the first to be vaccinated were Nidec President Kiyoshi Sato, the firm’s general manager Marissa Tamayo, and Carol Adamos, Dexter Saludez, and Ruel Fernandez, all workers at the manufacturing company.

Sato said the Nidec employees were honored to be chosen for the launch of the A4 mass vaccination in the Philippines. “Due to the support that we received from SBMA Chairman Eisma, the DOH team and the Philippine government, we are able to provide the vaccine to you all today, free of charge,” Sato also told Nidec workers.

Sato said the company has been operating in the Subic Freeport since 1998 as a factory for hard-disc drive motors, and has invested $100 million to produce gearboxes mainly for robotics and other automation-related industries.

“Nidec Subic currently has 458 workers and plans to increase to 800 employees by this year. We plan to continue to grow this company and continue to value the health and well-being of all our employees,” Sato added.

A total of 300 doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived here on Tuesday for the initial inoculation drive for economic frontliners. Eisma said Nidec workers will receive the rest of the doses in the next two days.

She added that she has also received a commitment from the national government for the weekly release of vaccines for workers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to boost the A4 vaccination program.

“From the men and women of the Subic Bay Freeport, we thank you for the A4 vaccination program that is supported by President Duterte,” Eisma told Secretary Roque during the ceremony. “We are happy that our economic frontliners may do their work without fear of getting serious effects of Covid-19,” she added.

With the commitment for additional vaccines, Eisma on Tuesday urged Freeport workers to register for the vaccination program. She added that while the vaccine is subject to availability and approval by the DOH, the SBMA will coordinate the registry of workers qualified under the A4 priority group.

As of now, the SBMA and the DOH are continuing with the vaccination of Subic stakeholders in the A1 to A3 priority groups, she added. (MPD-SBMA)

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Nidec reduces workers to sustain Subic operations

Japanese manufacturing firm Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation has retrenched more than 70 percent of its workers here to maintain the viability of company operations, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said on Wednesday.

The firm, which manufactures precision electronic equipment, direct-drive spindle motors, and specialized digital core parts for multimedia, announced the separation of 784 of its workers on Tuesday and released their separation pay as well.

“It’s sad news for us, but we hope that this will be just a temporary setback that would allow the company to weather the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy,” said SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

“The company will not close down altogether,” Eisma added, pointing out that Nidec has retained 300 workers to maintain the company facilities at the Subic Techno Park here.

As of December 2020, the firm had listed 1,197 direct hires on its rolls, aside from 211 workers sourced out from a manpower provider and 36 from a security firm.

But as early as August last year, Nidec vice president for administration Tetsuya Nakao had announced business difficulties that impacted company operations at the Subic production facility.

In a letter asking the Department of Labor and Employment for exemption to the new minimum wage order, Nakao revealed that “the impact of Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected our operating expense and doubled our company expenditures on shuttle services.”

Last December, Nidec deputy general manager for administration Daisy Mae Jaucian informed SBMA Labor Department manager Melvin Varias that the firm will cut down on its employees, citing the closure of their base production of spindle motors effective February 5, 2021.

“We find that we must reduce our workforce to ensure the financial stability of the company,” Jaucian said. “We have always valued and continue to value the contributions of all our employees and deeply regret the need for this action.”

Varias said that Nidec had asked assistance from the SBMA for the profiling of the displaced workers for any job opening in the Subic Bay Freeport.

In response, Varias said the SBMA has identified a total of 254 job vacancies among 15 companies in the Freeport as of January 6 for which the retrenched workers may apply.

The available positions included, among others,  150 production operators and 15 quality control personnel in a shoe factory; 21 engineer, operator and inspector positions in a computer manufacturing firm; and production planners in another Japanese firm. (MPD/SBMA)

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Japanese steel firm invests P392.5-M for Subic factory

A Japanese steel company is set to invest P392.5 million in this premier free port to produce gear parts for industrial robots and specialty steel products for other companies here and abroad.

Taiyo Subic Philippines Corporation, a subsidiary of Japanese integrated special steel trading firm Taiyo Shoji Co., Ltd., was established here in February and has leased a 6,200-square meter facility at the Subic Techno Park (STP) here.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said Taiyo Subic has initially subleased a property with Nidec Subic Philippine Corp., another Japanese company at the STP, which manufactures spindle motors for hard disk drives.

“But Taiyo Subic has committed to construct its own factory here within this year at the cost of P142.5 million,” Eisma said during a media briefing here on Friday.

“This only goes to show the continuing confidence among Japanese investor-companies in Subic,” she added.

The new company has located in Subic to engage in the business of importation and exportation of special steel materials, and manufacturing of parts for use in the automobile industry, industrial machineries, plant machineries, and information technology.

It plans to set up a manufacturing facility that will manufacture and supply specialized gear parts for industrial robots both in the Philippines and abroad.

According to its business plan, Taiyo Subic will import materials from Taiyo Japan and Daido Steel Co., one of the world’s largest specialty steel manufacturers, refine these materials, and thereafter supply precision materials and gear parts to to other companies here and abroad.

Specifically, Taiyo Subic will supply speed reducers for Subic Nidec, using the special materials and parts that were developed by Taiyo Japan and Daido Steel.

The firm plans to supply Nidec Subic with 100,000 units of speed reducers per month by March 2020.

The entry of another Japanese manufacturer here heralds a resurgence of Japanese investments in the Subic Bay Freeport, noted Chairman Eisma.

Just this January, Nidec Shimpo, a sister company of Nidec Subic, launched in Subic an entirely new product line for super-silent speed reducers that has not been manufactured elsewhere in the world.

This was followed in March by the opening of a research and product development facility by Japanese technology firm Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. also at the Subic Techno Park.

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, who graced the Nidec Shimpo inauguration, said the new projects show “the continuing Japanese investor confidence in the Philippines’ business potential.” (JRR/MPD-SBMA)

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Japanese firm launches new line of robotic parts in Subic Freeport

Nidec-Shimpo Corporation (Japan), a leading innovator of precision-gearing solutions for robotics and industrial automation, formally launched its operations here on Wednesday, aiming to mass produce in its Subic factory a new line of robot components developed in Japan.

Nidec-Shimpo First Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue said the wholly-owned company of Japan’s Nidec Corp. and sister-company of Nidec Subic Philippine Corp. will initially build speed reducers for high-precision motion control applications at the rate of 10,000 to 25,000 units per month.

But the plant’s target production is expected to increase to 100,000 units per month at the end of this year, and to 120,000 units per month by March 2020, he added.

Inoue stressed that the gearless component parts to be produced in Subic are an entirely new product line that has not been manufactured elsewhere in the world. He described them as “super silent, and with zero backlash and smooth rotation.”

The Subic-made products will be exported to Spain, the United States and Germany, he added.

The launch of Nidec-Shimpo operations here was attended by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, Senator Richard Gordon, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, and Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Haneda said Nidec’s expansion “demonstrates the continuing Japanese investor confidence in the Philippines’ business potential (and) shows the rigorous effort of Nidec to take advantage of opportunities and take on challenges to break new ground.”

He also cited the company for its skills development activities that make its workers “industry-ready and technology-capable.”

Meanwhile, Gordon said Nidec’s new project “shows the trust and confidence of companies like Nidec in the capacity of the Filipino workers, and in our government’s consistency in our rules and regulations.”

“We should have more companies like Nidec in Subic,” he added.

On the other hand, SBMA Chairman Eisma noted that Nidec-Shimpo’s operation here “will further promote Subic’s stature in high-end manufacturing, improve the proficiency of local workers in technology, and, of course, bolster the local economy by increasing exports.”

Eisma also praised Nidec-Shimpo for sending local workers to Japan for training.

According to Inoue, the firm had sent a total of 100 Filipino workers to Japan as the first batch of trainees to learn the technology involved in producing precision motors and speed reducers. Of these, 70 had finished the course, and Nidec had again sent another 46 trainees for the second batch.

Inoue added that Nidec intends to hire more personnel at the Subic plant on top of the 100 workers it will employ in the first year of operation.

He pointed out that the Subic factory’s monthly product capacity of P120,000 units is greater than the combined capacity of Nidec’s plants in Kyoto, which was at 30,000 units in 2018, and in Ueda, which is expected to reach 50,000 units in 2019. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Nidec-Shimpo Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue (left) explains how a high-precision speed reducer works to Sen. Richard Gordon and SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma during the opening of the Nidec-Shimpo manufacturing plant at the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[2] Sen. Richard Gordon, along with SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma and other guests, views precision products manufactured by Nidec-Shimpo during the opening of the company’s manufacturing plant at the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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