Taiwan firm eyes Subic for flat TV production

Appliance manufacturer Taiwan Kolin Co. Ltd. is planning to put up a factory in Subic, Board of Investments (BOI) managing head Elmer C. Hernandez said.

He said Kolin is planning to manufacture flat television sets for export to Taiwan. The parts and components for the flat TVs would be imported from Taiwan and assembled in the proposed Subic factory.

Hernandez was in Taiwan recently for the 2005 Taipei Summit on Information and Communication Technology.

According to Hernandez, if Kolin’s plans materialize, it would be the first time a foreign firm would manufacture flat TVs in the country.

Kolin is planning to produce 130,000 units a year.

Another Taiwanese firm, Quanta Computer Inc., is also reportedly interested in putting up manufacturing operations in the Philippines.

However, in the case of Quanta, it plans to manufacture parts and components in the Philippines for export to Taiwan where assembly of computers and other peripherals would be done.

Quanta, Hernandez said, has an existing plant in Taiwan but wants to relocate part of its manufacturing operations here.