Japan confirms interest in Mexican infra, telecom projects

Officials at Japan’s embassy in Mexico were shown a portfolio of infrastructure and communications projects and other business initiatives by communications and transport ministry (SCT) officials on Wednesday, the ministry announced in a statement.

Infrastructure and telecom projects are the focus of Japanese enterprises’ interest in Mexico, particularly those related to urban transport and smart cities, Japan’s ambassador to Mexico, Yasushi Takase, said during the meeting. 

Takase said that Japan’s chamber of commerce and industry in Mexico is surveying businessmen to find out which sub-sectors they are most interested in, such as ports, airports, railways and highways. 

Meanwhile, SCT minister Jorge Arganis Díaz-Leal said that Mexico is very interested in Japan’s technological expertise and experience and wants to facilitate the exchange of ideas and practices between the two countries. 

While increasing Japanese investment in Mexico has been discussed for several years, the greater involvement in domestic projects on the part of Japan’s companies could become a reality in the next couple of years as it has confirmed interest in various initiatives.

So far, no major Japanese firm has made a bid for one of Mexico's big infrastructure projects or has signed a major contract under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration. 

However, Mexico's economy ministry said in August that Japanese direct investments in Querétaro state, which is becoming a Latin American datacenter hub, reached US$64mn in the first half of 2020, which was 91% more than in the same period of 2019. 

The Wednesday meeting is not the first time under this government that Japanese and Mexican officials have had contact to discuss cooperation and partnerships for investment. 

In January 2020, the ratification of the Mexico-US-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) was described as an opportunity for Japan to invest in Mexico, tourism minister Miguel Torruco Marqués said after meeting with Takase. 

This followed a 2019 meeting between Mexico’s deputy minister of foreign trade, Luz María de la Mora, and with Japan’s deputy minister of external affairs to discuss trade relations between the two nations. 

Japan is the biggest Asian investor in Mexico and its fourth biggest trade partner globally, according to Takase. 

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