The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI), in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), Industry Development and Trade Policy Group (IDTPG), Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC), as well as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), will promote the capabilities of Philippine electronics industry players through a mission to the Silicon Valley this January 2019.
As the first unified approach for the government, academe, and industry players, the mission breaks through the promotion of the Philippines as a strong player in the global electronics supply chain. It also aims to help them spur new business leads, partnerships for direct contracts, joint ventures, investments, business expansions, and exchange of technology.
“The mission will take place in the same week as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas,” said SEIPI President Dan Lachica. “It presents the delegation an opportunity to network with key industry players from around the world and be updated on technology trends, innovations, and supply chain developments of a variety of global electronic brands,” he added.
With strong research and development (R&D) support and partnership with Philippine academic institutions, SEIPI and the DTI are have been actively campaigning to boost trade for the electronics industry. The mission is a part of the industry’s roadmap “Product and Technology Holistic Strategy” or PATHS which identifies niche products and technologies the Philippines should focus on in the next five years.
Philippine companies Fastech Advanced Assembly, First Asia Venture Capital, Integrated Micro-Electronics, Ionics EMS and Testech aim to develop business leads with key players in Silicon Valley through info-sessions and business matching activities.
Apart from individual client meetings, business fora, networking activities, and company visits, the mission includes innovation culture and supply chain discussions with global hardware line, which will be accompanied with industry competitiveness strategy pitch from a global leader in semiconductors, technology session with venture capital firm, and meeting with the global headquarters of a large industry association.
Meanwhile, the DTI, Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC), and the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco are eyeing a networking night with Silicon Valley-based start-up firms. Aligning with its role to support the country’s major R&D activities such as smart agriculture and renewable energy, the DOST also co-arranged a meeting with the University of California, Berkeley to benchmark industry-academe partnerships that equip universities to become the research arms of industries.
The delegation has also set a visit to the Marvell NanoFabrication Lab and a meeting with global Filipino technology innovator and 2018 Ramon V. Del Rosario Sr. awardee Dado Banatao. The said activities aim to enable Filipinos to gain insights in the development of the SEIPI Science and Technology Center in the Philippines that will house the future IC Design Center, Lab-Scale Wafer Fab, and R&D Lab, which are proposed in the PATHS.
Funded by the DTI, the industry roadmap is administered by the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development. It is implemented by SEIPI through the Silicon Valley mission.
According to DTI-EMB Executive Director Senen Perlada, the mission is pursuant to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 and the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2018-2022.
“It aims to meet the PDP objectives and export targets by improving the overall climate for export development, exploiting existing prospective opportunities from trading arrangements, and designing comprehensive support for selected products and services sectors, among others,” he said.
The semiconductor and electronics industry remains as the Philippines’ top exporter today. In 2017, the country’s electronics exports posted double-digit growth of 11.16 percent to reach USD32.7 B—the highest in the industry’s history. The United States also ranked as the Philippines’ third market in 2017 with a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent from 2013-2017, which is valued at USD4.39 B.♦
Date of Release: 11 January 2019