Chinese electronics firm to put up P500-M facility

MANILA, Philippines - A Chinese company is gearing to set up operations in the country with the construction of a manufacturing facility worth at least P500 million, a Department of Trade and Industry official said. 

Trade Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo Jr., who was in China last month for the 12th China-Asean Expo, said a Chinese company has vowed to invest about $10 million to put up a manufacturing plant in a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-accredited site in Luzon.

Manalo declined to disclose the identity of the company but said it is involved in the manufacture of electronic products such as microprocessors.

He said the Chinese firm’s planned manufacturing plant would be its first venture in the Philippines. 

“They are going to set up here. It is good to go. The nature of its business is that it should be a PEZA locator because it’s going to export,” he said.

The trade official said construction of the plant is expected to start next year.

Hong Kong Investment Promotion   director general Simon Galpin told The STAR in an earlier interview the Philippines remains an attractive investment destination among companies from Hong Kong and China despite ongoing territorial disputes.

“There’s tremendous interest in what’s going on in the Philippines. It is not only Hong Kong companies but also mainland Chinese companies that are in Hong Kong. I hope we’ll see more companies coming into the Philippines soon,” Galpin said.

Last year, China was the Philippines’ largest source of imports with shipments amounting to $9.57 billion.

Likewise, China was the country’s third largest export market following Japan and the US. The Philippines shipped $8.03 billion worth of commodities to China in 2014, up 14 percent over 2013 levels.

Despite the healthy trade relationships between the two countries, the Philippine government is still hoping to bring in more investments from China as well as further boost trade activities.