Electronics sector sees 10% growth in 2004

The Philippine electronics industry is expected to post robust growth of 10 percent next year after a flat 2003, an industry official said yesterday in a preliminary forecast.

An economic recovery in the United States and signs of resurgent demand for semiconductor products would fuel the growth, said Arthur Tan, board member of the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI).

The industry originally expected a five- percent growth in 2003 and 20-percent growth in 2004, only to be hit hard by the downturn in the worldwide electronics industry.

Tan, also president of Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (IMI), a leading electronics firm, said the Philippines was particularly affected because most of the industry in the Philippines is centered on semiconductors which was among the last electronics sectors to recover.

However, Tan told reporters the global electronics industry was emerging from a three-year slump and that the Philippines was now seeing "a pent-up demand that is moving."

Tan said the local situation for electronics firms had also improved with the government taking action to upgrade needed infrastructure and boost security, particularly after cases of hijackings of electronics shipments.

However, he said there was still a need to cut the high price of electrical power and make the labor code more flexible for the Philippines to stay competitive in the region.

Electronics account for more than 60 percent of the Philippines’ exports.