Taiwan to invest $100-M in RP

Taiwan is set to make $100 million worth of investments in the country, it was reported yesterday by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Formosa Plastics is set to build a $90 million power co-generation facility project in the country that will supply electricity to the Trust International Paper Corp. (TIPCO).

The two companies are set to sign a memorandum of agreement in Taiwan today with Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II witnessing the signing between Formosa Plastics executive vice president K.H. Wu and TIPCO chairman and chief executive officer Elon Ting.

Formosa is one of the leading power suppliers in Taiwan, while TIPCO is a paper manufacturer based in Mabalacat, Pampanga and exports $60 million worth of paper products annually.

The other Taiwanese investments will come from three Taiwanese information and communications technology firms.

Trend Micro, Taiwan’s biggest software designer and exporter, is expanding its software development operations in the country, according to the DTI.

It is planning to hire an additional 100 Filipino software engineers for its Philippine-based software design center, bringing its total software engineers to 300.

Trend Micro is also applying for registration with the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

Trend Micro is entering into an agreement with the DTI to exchange information and transfer technology between the two countries to further develop their respective ICT sectors.

Roxas will sign the memorandum in behalf of the DTI while Trend Micro general manager Ieta Chi will sign for the Taiwanese ICT firm.

Two other ICT firms – Datatec and Ulead Systems– are also planning to set up offices in the country as software developers. – Marianne Go