The projected decline in Philippine electronics industry has been trimmed to 16 percent from the earlier 20 percent with players calling for the domestic industry to move up the value chain to meet demands for new technologies.
Glenn Everett, general manager of Continental Temic Electronics (Phils.) Inc., said at the Q3 General Membership Meeting of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) the domestic industry estimated a contraction of 16 percent.
“This year we see among our members, a general estimate of a contraction and 16 percent,” said Everett, who is also SEIPI chairman. He however, said that the simple number for growth projection this year is minus 20 percent for 2020. Pre-COVID, SEIPI was looking at 5 percent growth.
Electronics exports of the Philippines went down by 14.9 percent in the first six months of the year to $16.1 billion from $18.9 billion in the same period in 2019, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
According to Everett, most SEIPI member companies surveyed showed some sort of V shaped sales impact. “Some are fast. Some are recovering quickly, some recovering slowly over the course of things,” he said. SEIPI has no forecast yet for 2021, but said there could be a better picture by the fourth quarter.
SEIPI President Dan Lachica was more optimistic saying, “I believe that will improve over time because of the global demand. Notwithstanding the trade war, notwithstanding the challenges we're facing the electronics industry is still supplying the global demand, which is high, so we need to play catch up.”
But, Lachica also equally emphasized the need to push for repositioning Philippine electronics operations to support and respond to the needs of the times. He cited a few companies that repositioned themselves to produce personal protective equipment.
“We have several multinationals who are producing components for, you know, COVID related equipment, test equipment and the like,” he added stressing there is a need to catch up to the local demand while supporting local needs.
Everett also noted that new technologies have already been applied in the Philippines. He said Filipino researchers are actively supporting new technologies such as the platform for assessment and tracking in cities that would aid policy makers in making decisions faster. He also noted of geo tagging to monitor the status of program activities of big projects and use of small satellites to monitor some parts in the country.
Lachica also said the organization is collaborating with the Malaysian association of IC design companies for collaborative activities. SEIPI is also meeting with the Malaysian government-owned Applied Resarch and Development Center for possible signing of a memorandum of understanding for micro electronics training and technology transfer.
Last year, SEIPI signed an MOU with the largest largest French Electronics Industry Association to pursue opportunities in the EMS sector and business to business interaction.