The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) hopes to attain $50 billion in revenues this year, its president told the India-Pacific Business Forum yesterday.
Danilo Lachica said about $35 billion of that or 70 percent would be semiconductors.
“That’s a testimony to the hard work of Filipino workers and (of the) government in promoting the industry,” Lachica said.
In 2021, the electronics and semiconductor industry generated $45.6 billion in exports.
Lachica noted the role of the Philippines in the global supply chain of semiconductors and the country’s strength in the assembly and test of chips that run most smart gadgets.
Lachica said minerals like nickel, copper and cobalt are very crucial in achieving technologies that would support the green and smart economy.
With the country’s rich resources, Lachica believes this is a sector the industry can explore.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual in the same forum said the Philippines aims to move up the value chain from assembly and test to wafer fabrication.
Pascual said government is working to reduce power costs by attracting more investments in renewable energy as well as the use of nuclear to be able produce silicon that goes into the production of semiconductors. “The next stage is wafer fabrication, which is right now almost monopolized by Taiwan…we can provide the diversification of sources, ” Pascual said.
