The Philippines expects 250 investment leads from foreign companies in a wide range of sectors, pushed by the economic reforms undertaken by the government, including the passage of the amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA) and the Foreign Investments Act.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters barring any surge, some of these leads will be finalized starting this year.
“Many of these projects were just postponed or delayed due to the Delta and Omicron surges that prevented the investors from visiting the sites,” Lopez said.
Lopez cited some examples from the investments leads which he estimated to be worth P450 billion, the biggest of these investments of which are in integrated steel manufacturing from Chinese firms Panhua and Bauwo Steel.
In electronics manufacturing services , the prospective investors are Minebea Electronics; Brother for printers; Amphenol, electrical and electronic and fiber connectors; Positronics for wire harnesses for data centers/hyperscalers like Facebook and Google; three Taiwanese companies for the manufacture of telecom equipment and optical connectors and Foxconn.
In automotive and autoparts that include electric vehicles, mineral processing and battery manufacturing, the proposed investments are from Toyota for expansion; two Japanese companies for wiring harness; ZAF BGM for nickel hydroxide processing plant and battery; Ningbo Lygend, mineral processing and battery; a big EV company and; NWOW, a Chinese e-Bike manufacturer.
Lopez said there are also leads in telecom services and digital infrastructure, including a Digital Hub Tech City designed to host tech and IT companies in Pampanga; SpaceX low orbit satellite- based broadband internet and; project leads in data center and hyperscalers with capacities ranging from 50 to 180 megawatts.
Lopez anticipates investments in renewable energy as the country prepares 100-percent foreign ownership for solar, wind and tidal sources: a US firm in solar power with a capacity of 150 to 80MW and three Chinese firms on solar power projects, among others.
The information technology-business process management sector continues to attract investment leads. These include HCL expansion; US and Canadian firms in animation; two US firms for IT and customer support; a Canadian company in design and engineering; a healthcare IT company which will add 7,000 full-time employees to its operations; a health group which will expand; InterVenn which is pioneering a new AI-powered approach to predict, prevent, and observe disease progression in real time using glycoproteic research and development; Connext expansion and an estimated $30 million outsourcing services in health information management.
In agriculture production and processing, Lopez bared a project in integrated dairy production with around $500 million estimated investments for each project; Baladna-Qatari; LR Group-Israeli and Daesang fortapioca starch with contract farming with cassava farmers/cooperatives.
Logistics attracted companies from Taiwan for integrated logistics facility; China for a cargo terminal; Germany for an integrated logistics facility and; US, aerial logistics.
In garments and textiles; Lopez said there are leads in the manufacture of non-woven textiles for personal protective equipment and exports operations from international sports and apparel brands. – Irma Isip
