Singapore: With a view to expand into the lucrative Asian markets, two major medical companies in Japan have planned to set up manufacturing facilities at the First Philippine Industrial Park(FPIP),in Santo Tomas, Batangas in Philippines.

The companies, namely, Tokai Medical Products (TMP) and JMS Company(JMS) have signed contracts with FPIP for the lease of areas within the 442-hectare economic zone in Batangas.

This marks Tokai's first expansion outside Japan. Tokai is a medical engineering company based in Nagoya, Japan, that manufactures medical catheters for export in Japan and the US.

The JMS plant within FPIP will be its first in the Philippines. JMS Healthcare will manufacture and assemble medical devices and disposables, such as infusion sets, from FPIP for export to Japan, Europe, and Latin America. JMS also operates facilities in China, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Headquartered in Hiroshima, Japan, JMS expects to begin commercial operations in the Philippines by 2016. Both companies recently conducted their respective ground-breaking ceremonies within FPIP with Ms Lilia de Lima, director-general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), as guest of honor.