Texas Instruments eyes new factory in Subic freeport

American semiconductor firm Texas Instruments has expressed interest in putting up a manufacturing plant in Subic, according to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza.

Texas Instruments has an existing $27-million facility in Baguio but has expressed interest in investing $1 billion for another plant in Subic, Arreza said.

He said Texas Instruments wants a 20-to 30-hectare property and is sending a technical team to Subic on Oct. 10 to explore and inspect possible sites at the Subic Bay freeport.

The Board of Investments, the Philippine Export Zone Authority and the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) are all assisting Texas Instruments in its effort to look for a new manufacturing site in the Philippines as it no longer has space to expand at the Baguio Export Processing Zone.

The BEPZ plant of Texas Instruments has expanded at least four times already.

According to Arreza, China is also courting the American semiconductor firm.

Texas Instruments is expected to make a decision within a year. Texas Instruments’ decision to locate in Subic, Arreza said, may hinge on its power cost.

Texas Instruments, at present, is reportedly spending $2 million a month for power.

Arreza is hopeful that with the plan of Cogen Taiwan to put up a power generation plant, electricity rates in Subic would go down, making the freeport more competitive.

If Texas Instruments is not satisfied with Subic, Arreza said, the CDC has identified a possible site for the semiconductor firm in Clark. SBMA, Arreza said, has identified a 28-hectare site at the second phase of the Subic Bay Industrial Park for Texas Instruments.

Texas Instruments’ Baguio plant currently accounts for 40 percent of its global sales. Texas Instruments’ Baguio facility is three-storys with a total floor area of 200,000 square feet and can accommodate 300 people. It employs 2,200 people in Baguio City.

TI Philippines manufactures mostly digital signal processors, which are widely used in cellular phones and other electronic devices to help convert analog signals into the digital language of computers.

It is estimated that about 90 percent of the parent company’s annual requirement come from the Philippine subsidiary.

TI serves some 80 percent of the requirement of the global wireless industry.