JSMEA,ClassNK Organize Philippines-Japan Business Matching Forum

Japan Ship Machiner y and Equipment Association (JSMEA) organized a “Japan Day” event on Feb. 22 in Manila. It was co-hosted by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) and financially supported by The Nippon Foundation. Following a seminar on seafarer-related matters that ClassNK held in the morning, JSMEA together with the classification society in the afternoon convened a Philippines-Japan Business Matching Forum. The forum was inaugurated with the opening address by Mr. Katsuhiko Fujiwara, vicechairman of JSMEA, encouraging 11 member companies to give presentations on their latest products and other features, focusing on energy saving, after-sales services and eco-friendliness. JSMEA and ClassNK had the following leaders give briefings on up-to-date maritime affairs in the Philippines: Mr. Dario R. Alampay, Jr., chairman of the Filipino Shipowners Association (FSA); Mr. Christopher S. Pastrana, chairman of Philippine Inter-Island Shipping Association, Inc. (PISA); and Mr. Jesse Ho Maxwell, chairman of Philippine Petroleum Sea Transport Association, Inc. (PHILPESTA).

Prior to holding the Philippines-Japan Business Matching Forum, JSMEA and ClassNK had received great cooperation from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) as well as the FSA, PISA and PHILPESTA. They strived to carry out public relations activities to widely circulate information on the event to parties concerned with maritime affairs in the Philippines. As a consequence, the forum venue was filled with many local guests, which numbered some 170 (not including those from Japan). The meeting was so

successful as to see none of the attendees leave in the middle, and came to an end with the closing address by Mr. Reijiro Urabe, leader of JSMEA’s Overseas Market Development Working Group. Right outside the forum venue, the 11 JSMEA members prepared desks for business negotiations, making efforts to exchange information with local customers and potential customers. After the Philippines-Japan Business Matching Forum, JSMEA teamed up with ClassNK again to organize a networking reception. Mr. Koichi Fujiwara, chairman and president of the classification society, gave the opening remarks. Members of the JSMEA mission developed relations with many representatives from the Filipino maritime industry, as many of the Japan Day guests continued to attend the reception. JSMEA plans to report findings from its attendance at the Philippines-Japan Business Matching Forum when convening meetings of its Overseas Market Development Committee, Overseas Market Development Working Group, Global Strategic Plan Review Board and other in-house units to discuss what actions it can take in the future.

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Please see JSMEANEWS number 115(Spring 2018) for more information.

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