First Philec inks joint venture with Korean firm

MANILA, Philippines - First Philec Solar Corp. (FPSC), a subsidiary of the Lopez group, had signed a joint venture with Nexolon of Korea to put up a 400-megawatt solar wafer facility in Laguna, a top company official said.

FPSC president Arthur de Guia said FPSC will be pouring in $100 million for the proposed project.

De Guia said they expect the operation of the wafer manufacturing plant to be in cooperation in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to de Guia, the plant, which will be located in a 3.5-hectare property at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Laguna, will employ around 500 new workers.

He said they formed a subsidiary to First Philec Solar Nexolon to handle the operation of the new plant.

The company will officially start the construction of the plant by October this year.

Based on the venture’s terms, FPSC will be providing for the solar panel needs of Nexolon, one of the biggest solar power developers in Korea.

FPSC is the intermediate holding company for all manufacturing investments of First Philippine Holdings Corp.

FPHC was established in 1961 by Don Eugenio Lopez and a group of Filipino entrepreneurs. SunPower Manufacturing Ltd (SPML) is a subsidiary of the United States’ SunPower Corp., which designs, manufactures and delivers solar electric technology.

FPSC is envisioned to have 100 multi-wire saws (MWS) producing 240 million wafers annually; this will support approximately 720 MW of solar energy.

De Guia said they are also looking for other possible joint venture partners to become one of the biggest in Southeast Asia.