Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual has urged US companies to invest in the Philippines’ semiconductor industry, highlighting the country's strong economic growth, comparative advantages, and strong government support at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2023 in San Francisco, California.

“As we navigate the dynamic landscape of [the] semiconductor industry, I invite you to explore the boundless opportunities within the Philippines,” Pascual said during the roundtable meeting on the Philippines Semiconductor and Electronics Industry last Nov. 13.

The DTI official underscored the country’s strong economic growth coupled with the country’s comparative advantages including a huge pool of young talent, a competitive business environment, strategic market access, and robust government support.

“Within the semiconductor sector, the United States, particularly through partnerships and support from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) SEMI, stands out as a pivotal ally,” Pascual said.

He added that the Philippines and the US have a deep-rooted collaboration, demonstrating “strong alignment across various levels, where the advantages of the Philippines complement the advanced technologies of [the US]”.

“Meanwhile, at the policy level, both parties are actively engaged in the Indo-Pacific Regional and Bilateral Policy Framework negotiations,” he said.

He also noted that the DTI is fostering close collaboration with local industry associations, such as the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. or SEIPI.

He emphasized the country's robust electronics industry significantly contributed to the growth of the export sector, accounting for 62.27 percent of total exports.

Further, Pascual reported that the country's merchandise exports soared to approximately $78 billion, positioning the Philippines within the top 10 global suppliers for nearly 200 products and among the top 20 suppliers for 500 diverse products.

He outlined the strength of the Philippines’ service export, particularly in the manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others (MSPOI), which recorded $41 billion last year, placing the country as the second-largest exporter in the ASEAN region.

Pascual emphasized that the country is aspiring to grow its participation in the US semiconductor value chain, aligned with the CHIPS Act and the Executive Order of President Biden to work with American allies and partners to strengthen the collective supply chain resilience.

“We aspire to go beyond our current activities in assembly, packaging, and test of semiconductors, into higher value segments of the value chain such as in chip design and putting up a lab-scale wafer fabrication facility,” he said.

In strengthening the semiconductor sector in the Philippines, Pascual stressed that the SIA and SEMI would be pivotal allies for strong collaboration to achieve the goals and firm up further the relations of both the Philippines and the US.

Pascual also highlighted the DTI’s concerted efforts to expand the local industry through various programs and initiatives, including the establishment of crucial support facilities; enhancement of human capital through capacity-building; streamlining of business processes for ease of operation; active industry promotion; and dedicated policy advocacy and development.  

He said the Philippines would be an ideal site with its vast renewable energy  (RE) potential to generate green energy for semiconductor operations of global semiconductor companies that are looking for sites that will support their carbon neutrality goals.

He noted that the government will provide support to companies that will set up their own RE projects to power their operations.

“Join us in harnessing the potential of our skilled workforce, competitive business ecosystem, and supportive policies. Together, let's pave the way for unprecedented achievements in the semiconductor space,” Pascual said.