English
Philippines: Electronics exports seen to grow by 5% this year
MANILA, Philippines — The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) expects the country’s electronic exports to grow at a slower pace of five percent this year compared to last year’s due to an anticipated weakening of global demand.
SEIPI president Dan Lachica said in a Viber message, “five percent is the official 2023 (growth) projection after the first quarter board meeting in February.”
He said the country’s electronics exports hit a record-high of $49.09 billion last year, up by 6.88 percent from 2021.
Earlier this year, Lachica said the group is projecting electronic exports would grow by nearly nine percent this year.
He said SEIPI is expecting lower growth in electronics exports this year from last year due to “slower global demand.”
He also said this year’s growth would be driven by demand for automotive and industrial products.
The electronics industry remains a significant driver of the country’s economic growth.
Electronic exports accounted for bulk or 62.27 percent of the country’s $78.84 billion worth of total outbound commodity shipments last year.
In terms of jobs, the semiconductor and electronics industry employs three million direct and indirect workers.
To improve the country’s competitiveness and attractiveness as an investment destination for electronics firms, the SEIPI continues to work with the government to address industry concerns.
For the first quarter of this year, the SEIPI is meeting with the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Finance secretaries, as well as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials to discuss the industry’s concerns and recommendations.
Among the concerns affecting the industry are low foreign direct investments, high operating costs, issues on the BOC’s X-Ray Selectivity System and implementation of the electronic tracking of containerized cargo system, work-from-home arrangement for non-manufacturing departments, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s imposition of the 12 percent value-added tax on constructive exporters and production support functions.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/03/03/2248819/electronics-exports-seen-grow-5-year