Foreign investors unfazed by bombings

Veteran foreign investors remain unfazed by the spate of bombings that hit two crowded commercial complexes in the business districts of Metro Manila, saying government should not lose its focus and continue addressing the structural and infrastructure development of the country as the region launches into electronic commerce.

Intel Technologies chief executive officer Craig Barrett told a press conference yesterday that he was not worried about the recent terrorist attacks in the metropolis or the escalation of warfare between Muslim separatists and government troops in Mindanao.

"Intel has been operating here for 27 years and I have personally been coming here for 24 years," Barrett said. "I tell you, this situation pales in comparison with some of the situations I have seen in the past."

Intel is the first US-based semiconductor manufacturer to locate its plant in the Philippines and this facility has since become one of the more important raw manufacturing facilities outside of the US.

"Don't even worry about what you see today," said Barrett said, referring to the disruption that sent the stock market into a tailspin as foreign portfolio investors led an exodus out of the market in anticipation of worse things to come.

In the meantime, Barrett said there is a pressing need for the country to get on the e-commerce bandwagon. "E-commerce is the Philippines' gateway to generating more wealth," he said.

Barrett said the basic requirement is the generation of a critical mass of Internet traffic which depends on adequate telecommunication infrastructure, including the availability of international bandwidth.

"Everywhere we have seen that the best way for this to happen is to allow competition between private service providers that would ultimately lead to low access charges," he said.

According to Barrett, there is also a need to promote wider use of personal computers (PC). "In some Scandinavian countries, governments have even gone to the extent of removing the value added tax on PCs to make them affordable," Barrett said.

Intel has invested significantly in the Philippines through Intel Technology Philippines Inc. (ITPI), which operates an assembly line for its microprocessors at the Gateway Business Park in Cavite.

The local unit of Intel is the country's biggest exporter and had increased its investments by as much as $900 million by the year 2000.

Intel's main plant -- a microprocessor assembly and test facility -- is located along the South Superhighway in Makati while a new and bigger plant -- the biggest electronics plant in the Philippines -- was sent into motion in early 1997 in a 20-hectare property at the Gateway Business Park in Cavite.

In 1998, Intel had aggressively put in more investments into the Philippines, starting within the P6.103-billion Cavite plant.