MANILA, Philippines — Japanese firm MinebeaMitsumi is investing P4 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in Cebu.
In a statement yesterday, Philippine Trade and Investment Center commercial counselor -Tokyo Dita Angara-Mathay said the company has affirmed its confidence in the country through an expansion project for the manufacture of optical image stabilizer components for smartphones in Naga City in Cebu.
She said the expansion project is valued at P4 billion and will require additional workers approximating 30 percent of the current aggregate staff count in the company’s three factories in Santo Tomas in Batangas, Mariveles in Bataan and Danao City in Cebu.
“With the planned expansion in Cebu, through the support of the Philippine government, the country can potentially become MinebeaMitsumi’s largest production base in the world,” the Department of Trade and Industry said.
At present, the Philippines is the second largest production base of the company after Thailand, with over 26,000 workers.
With 96 research and development centers and factories in 22 countries, the company is backed by a labor force of close to 86,000.
The company is engaged in the production of machinery components and electronics devices and holds the largest global market share in miniature ball bearings (60 percent), pivot assemblies for hard disk drives (HDD) and one cell lithium-ion battery protection integrated circuits (80 percent).
In line with its global core philosophy, MinebeaMitsumi senior managing executive director Katsuhiko Yoshida said the company intends to help reduce the carbon footprint in the Philippines through its operations.
In particular, the company will be putting up a solar generation facility with electric generating capacity of 12.82 GWh per year for its own use.
The move will enable the company to meet its carbon neutrality goals and address rising energy costs.
The company is one of the country’s biggest exporters, employers and tax contributors.
It is also among foreign direct investors with cumulative investments in the Philippines amounting to over $1 billion.