Texas Instruments sets $70-M expansion in RP

Texas Instruments, the country’s biggest exporter of electronic products, is investing an additional $70 million to meet the expected rise in global demand for electronic products starting this quarter.

This was announced yesterday by Norberto Viera, president of Texas Instruments Philippines Inc. during the CEO Forum of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry of the Philippines (SEIPI).

Viera said that TI has expanded its manufacturing facility in the Baguio Export Processing Zone by 60,000 square feet.

"The increase in demand is mostly seen for wireless and consumer products," Viera said

On the other hand, he said, there is flat growth for automotive and wired products.

Viera urged local suppliers to increase their output due to the expected increase in demand. "We encourage suppliers to prepare, otherwise, we will miss the boat," he said.

Meanwhile, Simon Parker who heads Salomon Smith Barney’s telecommunications, media and technology investment banking, urged the government to invest in education, particularly engineering, to be able to improve on its "wealth of talent."

Parker, speaking at the SEIPI CEO Forum, pointed out that the Philippines is well-known for its "wealth of experience in management."

However, Parker pointed out that the Philippines has to work on reversing the wrong perception about the stability of the country.

"Because of the perception that the Philippines is risky and unstable, foreign investors tend to look elsewhere to China, Singapore and Malaysia," he said.