THE Philippines is looking at producing its own test kits within the year through a partnership with foreign companies.
In Ceferino Rodolfo, Board of Investments (BOI) managing head, told reporters in a virtual press briefing recently he and officials from the Department of Health and of the Department of Science and Technology will visit Korea on June 2 to 4 to explore with two companies the possibility of making the Philippines a hub for the production of rapid test kits.
Rodolfo said BOI is also trying to attract investments in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits in the country also from Korea and from the United States only that the production of rapid test kits is easier to execute.
Rodolfo estimated the cost of equipment alone in rapid test kits production at anywhere from P630,000 to P3 million.
Rodolfo said PCR test investments may be a bit complicated because they will require laboratories, test kits, re-agents and swabs for specimen collection.
Other countries with capability to produce PCR test kits are Japan and China.
Korea currently exports its rapid test kits but these are three times more expensive than those produced in China.
According to Rodolfo, the Philippines will be competing with other countries in trying to lure these Korean firms but noted that but by locating their hubs here, the Korean companies can lower the price of their test kits and be competitive with those produced by their China-based rivals.
He said the Philippines is a good location for COVID-related investments since the country did not impose any export ban on N88 or surgical masks even if the country badly needed supply.
Instead, Rodolfo said, the government incentivized companies producing the masks here by allowing them to produce more and sell part of their output to the local market.
This, he said, is a good signal to investors.
The visit will also tackle the progress of the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between the two countries.
Rodolfo said this is a good time to show Korea the Philippines is committed to improve the two countries’ business ties especially that Manila competes with so many other countries in trying to convince foreign companies such as those from Korea to shift some of their operations from China.
Rodolfo said tariffs on products from Korea have significantly gone down except on automotive and steel.
“(FTA) is a signalling mechanism that we would like to improve our business environment for Korean investors,” said Rodolfo.
According to Rodolfo, the BOI is assisting Ayala Healthcare which runs Healthway and FamilyDoc in securing test kits so they can roll out the testing once the entire country moves to general community quarantine.
