By IRMA ISIP

Renewed confidence in the Philippines as a favored site for electronics business will enable the industry to get more than $1 billion in fresh investments this year.

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) reported that for the first time in seven years, new investments in 2007 exceeded $1 billion, hitting $1.4 billion, doubling from $747 million in 2006.

Electronics make up 66 percent of the country’s exports.

SEIPI president Ernesto B. Santiago said 83 firms reported fresh investments either as relocation or expansion of existing projects.

Santiago said these new projects directly employ 24,212 and give indirect jobs to 170,000 others once fully operational.

Santiago said Texas Instruments’ vote of confidence, setting up a $1 billion expansion in Clark, is not only noteworthy for its magnitude but for the influence it created to other electronics firms.

The company registered the first phase of the expansion, valued at P20 billion or $400 million this year. The bigger balance of $600 million will be registered this year.

"TI’s investment changed the mindset of most technology companies putting money for new investments in Asia . The TI expansion proved to be the magnet for many semiconductor and electronics companies", Santiago said.

TI’s project was approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority in April 2007. The company would manufacture advanced semiconductor components including application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), analog & mixed signal products, digital logic products, microcontrollers, power management, RF/IF components, automotive products, etc.

The company is poised to bring its own suppliers numbering about 500.

Santiago said that a number of companies have been visiting and taking a second look at the Philippines as a smart choice for doing electronics business during the past few months.

He said these include small, medium and large semiconductor and electronics manufacturing companies, including support and allied industries.

The last time investment hit the $1 billion mark was in year 2000 when it registered a total investment of $1.24 billion. Investments started to decline in 2001 to $720 million before dropping to $270 million in 2002, and $270 million in 2003.

Santiago said these were the years when major investments are all going to China .

He said investments started to increase again in 2004 at $443 million, $776 million in 2005 and $747 million in 2006.

Santiago said SEIPI’s investment promotion would also be more focused, using the TI investment as a benchmark.

The top 10 projects in 2007 are:

1. TI, P20 billion;

2. Japanese-owned Fujitsu Computer Products Corp. of the Philippines for the manufacture of small form factor hard disk drives, component parts and accessories using perpendicular recording technology, P13.15 billion;

3. Dutch firm Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Philippines Corp., for the manufacture of magnetic recording heads with perpendicular recording and tunneling magnetic sensors (PM-TM heads), P3.63 billion;

4.Japanese-owned Terumo Philippines Inc. for the increase in production capacity of the manufacture of disposable syringe, P2 billion;

5.Another Japanese firm Fuji Electric Philippines Inc., manufacture of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, bipolar junction transistors, and twin stacks, P1.9 billion;

6. Panasonic Communication Philippines Corp. also a Japanese company, for the manufacture of rainbow multi-function printer; P1.2 billion;

7. Japanese-American TDK Fujitsu Philippines Corp., for the manufacture of perpendicular magnetic recording head gimbal assembly, P1.06 billion;

8. Ionics EMS Inc., A Filipino-Singaporean firm for the production/ assembly of IVLOG, P401.272 million;

9. American firm Maxim Philippines Operating Corp. for the assembly of module & I-button products , P348 million and;

10. Belgian firm Transitions Optical Philippines Inc., for the increase in production capacity of its manufacture of photochromic plastic lenses, P342 million.