Philippines seeks more aerospace investments

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines seeks to attract more aerospace companies to set up shop in the country as it aims to bring the sector to new heights in the coming years.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and aerospace industry officials, in a briefing at the Clark Freeport Zone yesterday, said the country is well positioned to become a regional hub for the industry.

Lopez said the industry is considered “very essential for the future of our country” given its huge potential for jobs generation and export earnings.

“The Philippine aerospace industry has chartered significant growth in the last few years and we see this emerging industry ready to compete in the global market. We see the Philippines participating more not only in the global supply chain of aircraft manufacturing but also in the maintenance of these aircraft,” Lopez said.

Damien Damperon, vice president of the Aerospace Industries Association of the Philippines, said the Philippines is an enticing market for investors in the aerospace industry “mainly because of the high educational level of people combined with amazing work ethics demonstrated every day.”

“Investing in the Philippines today is a very wise choice for investors,” Damperon said.

The country’s exports of aerospace products have a compounded growth rate of 42 percent from 2012 to 2016, according to the DTI.

Europe and the US are the biggest export destinations at 45.8 percent and 40.8 percent share to total exports of aerospace parts in 2016, respectively.

“The growth of the aerospace industry will mean more export earnings for the country and more quality jobs for Filipinos, particularly for the country’s graduates of engineering and aviation-related courses,” Lopez said.

Under the country’s Aerospace Industry Roadmap, the country is targeting export revenue of up to $2.57 billion and 15,000 jobs by 2022.

But with the unprecedented demand in the sector, Lopez said these targets may be achieved earlier.

Helping the country reach its targets and further position itself as a regional hub is its upcoming hosting of the Aeromart Summit 2018 on June 4 to 6 at the Clark Freeport ZOne in Pampanga.

This is the first time the country is hosting the Aeromart Summit, an international convention for aerospace and airport infrastructure industries.

Lopez said 100 companies from 15 countries will be participating in the summit.

“This hosting of the Aeromart Clark therefore aims to launch the local aerospace industry on a wider scale and create greater awareness of our industry as a recognized partner in MRO and aerostructures manufacturing in the Asia-Pacific region. Not many people know that Philippine-based companies currently produce parts of major aerospace manufacturers like French company Airbus and US-based Boeing,” he said.