Government seeks way to boost electronics sector

MANILA, Philippines — The government is looking into how it can support the electronics sector as it works to implement a catch-up plan to reverse the decline in exports amid the global economic slowdown.

During the recent general membership meeting of Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport), presidential adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said his office is working on how to support the electronics sector.

“The industry has only grown bigger and given the Philippine status as a top global exporter of electronics with the particular strength in the semiconductors, it is an opportune time to fully harness the potential of this sector and to create an entire ecosystem that produces high value products for the global market,” Go said.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that electronics exports posted an 8.6-percent decline to $34.5 billion from January to October compared to last year’s $37.8 billion.

In an interview with ANC in September, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) president Dan Lachica said they are projecting a nine to 10 percent decline in electronics exports for this year, citing global political and economic factors.

Lachica said the Philippines should focus more on its local semiconductor sector to be able to compete in attracting investments, especially as its neighbor Vietnam builds a strategy to develop its semiconductor industry.

Go said the catch up plan, which aims to realize the country’s untapped export potential of $49 billion includes attracting foreign investments and investing in infrastructure.

He said it also covers other sectors such as mining and mineral processing, noting that the Philippines is in a viable position to capitalize on the expanding nickel processing market as nickel is a key component in electric vehicles.

“We are the sixth largest in the world in terms of nickel reserves but actually importantly, we are the second largest exporter of nickel to the world and I believe that the Philippines has a huge potential of capturing the value chain by not exporting raw nickel ore but by processing the ore downstream and exporting processed nickel, or what is otherwise known as pure nickel or nickel concentrate,” Go said.

He added the country is studying the success story of Indonesia which is now a global powerhouse for nickel processing, and “all we need to do now is to learn from it and improve on it.”

In recognition of the importance of foreign direct investments in growing the economy, Go said his office is currently focused on encouraging investments in energy particularly renewable energy, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, digitalization, tourism and infrastructure.

On investing in infrastructure, he said the administration’s Build Better More program is currently in progress and vigorously implemented.

The infrastructure plan is envisioned to drive economic growth within and across markets, he said.