Korean companies bullish on RP

Investments coming from foreign companies in the country’s special economic zones are expected to increase, with more than 30 Korean firms expressing interest in setting up shop in the country.

This was disclosed by Philippine Economic Zone Authority chief Lilia de Lima, following an investment tour in Busan, South Korea last week.

"More than 30 companies expressed interest in investing in the Philippines, after knowing that one of the biggest conglomerates in Korea, Samsung Electronics, has been operating in the country for sometime now," De Lima said at the inauguration of Samsung’s new multimillion-dollar plant in Calamba, Laguna recently.

De Lima said the more than 30 Korean companies, majority of which are small- to medium-sized enterprises, are keen on following the steps of the Korean electronics giant which has aggressively invested in the Philippines.

She said there are now more than 170 Korean companies operating in the country, the biggest of which is Samsung.

Samsung’s latest investment foray is a sprawling 18,000-square meter optical disc drive (ODD) facility in Laguna, which is expected to become a strategic site for Samsung’s disc drive business.

The facility is the company’s third largest in Asia.

Samsung officials disclosed that the company has invested about $28 million in the optical disk drive facility, bringing its total investment in the country at around $200 million.

Samsung executives, headed by Dr. Daeje Chin, president and CEO of Samsung’s Digital and Media Systems Division, affirmed that the Philippine ODD facility would play a substantial part in the company’s optical media business.

Chin said that about 40 percent of the worldwide supply of optical disc drives would be coming from the Philippine facility.

He added that about 10 million units of these optical media products, including CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, CD writers, and combo drives, will be produced in the new facility next year.

Chin noted that the Philippines is a "good investment site" because of the existing infrastructure and the presence of other global companies operating in various ecozones dotting the archipelago. — Quadmedia News Agency