The Philippines is building world-class professionals to become a more valuable partner of choice in the global semiconductor business, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Monday.
In a meeting with Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) President and CEO John Neuffer during a Palace courtesy call, President Marcos said semiconductor manufacturing played a huge part in the country’s growth for many years.
The SIA is one of America’s top export industries, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research.
Considering the expansions in the digital space, the President predicted increased global requirements which the Philippines could seize in terms of supply.
“We thought that this would present an opportunity for the Philippines to expand, but not only in terms of production, or fabrication of chips but we decided that it’s time for us to move up the value chain and start looking into designing as well,” the President told Neuffer.
“And this came at a very opportune time because there are very many new technologies that have to be understood and then applied and then scaled up to a manufacturing level so that it becomes [a] significant contributor to GDP (gross domestic product),” he said.
The President said the semiconductor manufacturing in the country is a “very, very fertile area for development” because it’s still a small part of the actual global supply chain, compared to industry giants Taiwan and China.
To seize the opportunity, the President said the government is putting together more details into a roadmap to make the country more competitive.
In 2023, the Philippines’ biggest exports to the US were semiconductors and integrated circuits amounting to US$3.1 billion, or 23.3 percent of its total exports to the North American country.
President Marcos met SIA in a round table discussion last year when he assured them support, saying the semiconductor and electronics industries are one the country’s top priority sectors. (PCO)
