THE Philippine semiconductor industry has seen minimal growth this year, stakeholders said as they urged the government to boost support for the biggest contributor to the country’s export revenues.
Semiconductor shipments accounted for around 75 percent of the $27.5 billion in Philippine electronics exports from January to August, they added, up just 1.0 percent annually and an indication that the country was failing to capitalize on global demand.
Officials from Ionics EMS Inc., Amkor Technology Philippines Inc. and Xinyx Design Consultancy and Services Inc. on Tuesday said the government needed step up support for the sector, particularly in terms of better incentives, infrastructure and predictable policies.
Ionics Vice President Earl Qua noted that Southeast Asia was turning into a favorable hub for semiconductor production as other major manufacturers such as China face higher tariffs.
“The industry has seen great shifts in recent years, putting us in a prime position to be the leading exporter in Southeast Asia,” he said.
Amkor President Bing Viera, meanwhile, said that “without the government giving good investment incentives, investors will look elsewhere and the factories will be put in other countries.”
“We want predictable and continuous government policies,” he added.
A lack of attention to education and skills training for the sector is also a growing concern, they said.
“We lose so many good engineers to more competitive markets,” Xinyx Design Consultancy President Charade Avando also said, noting that the top tech companies in neighboring countries had Filipinos as head engineers.
“While we are proud of them, we all want an environment that supports them enough to be able to stay and do their good work here,” she added.
The Board of Investments has said that the passage of laws including the Create More Act would help boost investor interest in the country.
Policies are also becoming more conducive for growing the electronics manufacturing sector, it added.
The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. noted government efforts to boost the electronics manufacturing sector and said the country was “open for business” given new laws such as the Create More Act.
