An official of the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) disclosed to the media on Wednesday that three Japanese companies are looking at sourcing abaca from Davao City.
Christian Cambaya, unit head for Investor Assistance and Servicing of DCPIC, said that abaca is being used in Japan as a material to make fiberglass for high-end motorcycles.
“Not only sourcing abaca as an export product but to process abaca because we found out that abaca is being used in Japan as a material to make fiberglass that is being used to build high-end motorcycle like BMWs,” he said during Wednesdays media forum at Habi at Kape at Abreeza Mall.
Cambaya said Japan has the technology to process very thin abaca fiber.
“There is a specific requirement ang Japanese for abaca which is very thin and they can do it because they have the technology to do it and they will help our farmers to do it,” he said.
Cambaya said the city government of Davao is hoping that it can convince these Japanese companies to locate here not only to source abaca but also to put up a plant and process the abaca for the fiberglass material.
Cambaya said this is among the positive results during their attendance at the Tokyo Business Forum, which was part of the itinerary of their four-day travel to Japan on April 24 to 27, 2023 led by Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, to promote Davao to Japanese people as an exciting tourist destination and a feasible investment hub.
“We presented the services that we provided here to our investors,” he said.
The trip to Japan was initially planned for the signing of a sister city relationship between Davao City and Sennan City.
DCIPC collaborated with Sennan City, the Philippine Consulate in Osaka, PTIC in Osaka headed by Commercial Counsellor and director Michael Alfred V. Ignacio, PTIC in Tokyo headed by Commercial Counsellor and Special Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay, Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, and the Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia- Albano in organizing an Investment and Tourism Roadshow in Osaka and Tokyo.
The Osaka leg was held on April 25, 2023 at the Sura Rinku Building and was attended by around 20 businesses from the Osaka prefecture. Among those businesses who attended were from various industries including retail, airlines, real estate, trading, manufacturing, tourism, transportation, and others.
