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LOBAL semiconductor players are looking at tapping the Philippine semiconductor industry to deepen the country’s role in the global semiconductor supply chain and to support US firms in the endeavors under the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, according to the Board of Investments (BOI). “While the CHIPS Act aims to increase the capacity of the US semiconductor industry, we recognize that we cannot do it all in the US. And that’s where countries like the Philippines have an opportunity,” Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) President John
Neuffer said. Neuffer added that the CHIPS Act encourages manufacturing in America, but rather than reshoring all manufacturing activities, it is more of “rebalancing the supply chain.” The BOI said in a news statement on Wednesday that “while the CHIPS Act incentivizes the manufacturing of microchips domestically in the US, there remain several segments in the semiconductor supply chain such as assembly, testing, and packing,which are more cost effectively conducted outside of the US.” According to its website, SIA represents 99 percent of the United States’s semiconductor industry by revenue and two-thirds of non-US
chip firms. BOI said many of SIA’s member firms have “significant” investments in the Philippines including Analog Devices, Onsemi, and Texas Instruments, among others. For his part, BOI Managing Head and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo expressed appreciation for the US semiconductor industry group’s confidence in the Philippines’s investments prospects. “We thank our US partners for the opportunities that you have presented, and for recognizing the Philippines as one of your key partners. We, in the Philippine government, stand with the local semiconductor industry in promoting partnerships and enhancing local
capacities and competencies in semiconductor manufacturing to deepen the country’s role in the global semiconductor supply chain and be able to further support US companies in its endeavors under the CHIPS Act,” Rodolfo said. On January 16, SIA, led by its President and CEO John Neuffer and its Vice President for Global Policy Jimmy Goodrich, made a courtesy call on the BOI managing head, said the investment promotion agency. Apart from the courtesy call, the BOI arranged round-table meetings for SIA to meet with Philippine government agencies and trade groups such as the DepartC A
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PBBM SEES 7% FOR ’22, ’23 PBBM seeks trade curbs easing amid price spikes
B S P. M @sam_medenilla
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XCEPTIONALLY well-performing. This was how International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva described the country’s economic performance during her meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday.
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RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called for the easing of trade restrictions imposed by some countries amid the spike in global prices of food and energy last year to foster greater global economic growth. Marcos made the appeal during opening remarks during the Country Strategy Dialogue at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. The President said such protectionist policies are hampering the global movements of goods. “We are mindful that while protectionist policies may be appealing, even necessary in the short term, there will ultimately be no long-term winners...We join the call for all governments to unwind any trade restrictions and reinforce our commitment to the World Trade Organization [WTO] reform,” Marcos said. Last year, some countries like India, Malaysia and Indonesia implemented export bans for some agricultural products after the Ukraine-Russia conflict caused international food and energy prices to soar. The supply issues caused
Georgieva said she was impressed with how the country was still able to grow significantly despite the international global challenges last year caused by the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Last month, the Department of Finance (DOF) said it expects the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2022 will be at least 7.5 percent. “We found the Philippines to be an exceptionally well-performing C A
READY FOR CNY A statue of Buddha is cleaned at the Seng Guan Temple in Tondo, Manila, in preparation for the Chinese New Year that will welcome the Year of the Rabbit. NONIE REYES
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BSP TRACKS FOOD PRICE HIKES BEYOND NCR B C U. O @caiordinario
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HE rise in prices of food and other commodities may be more pronounced in regions outside Metro Manila making it necessary to monitor these conditions for the country’s price and financial stability, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In the 4th Regional Macroeconomic Conference Series (RMCS) South Luzon, BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said the central bank “cannot overlook” regional or local developments. “Developments at the regional level also inform the way we carry out our first and second pillars—price stability and financial stability,” Medalla said. “It would
be remiss for the central bank to overlook such nuances and differences across regions to inform its policies.” In a presentation on Wednesday, BSP Department of Economic Research Acting Director Roselle Manalo said the growth of regions such as Calabarzon and Bicol are well-supported given the positive overall business confidence. This confidence is driven by the continued reopening of the country, including Calabarzon and the Bicol region which will ensure the continued recovery of local businesses. However, firms are less optimistic when it comes to consumption spending and enrollment rates mainly due to rising prices as well as higher interest rates.
“The firms’ concerns for being less optimistic are indeed grounded. Inflation remains elevated across the country,” Manalo said. “The expected upside risks stemmed from first elevated food prices due to higher fertilizer costs and supply chain constraints. We continue to see that and on the domestic front.” Manalo also said trade restrictions and weather disturbances could increase the prices of fruits and vegetables while higher sugar prices, petitions for transport fare and wage hikes this year could also increase inflation. She said second-round effects, if left unchecked, could set in and “turn price increases into a vicious cycle” that could increase inflation further. Manalo said this is the
reason for BSP’s efforts to continue taming inflation by tightening monetary policy. However, the BSP believes this is only temporary. The central bank maintained its stance that inflation will remain elevated only in the first semester of 2023 and gradually decelerate in the second semester. “So by quarter three, that’s the only time we’ll see inflation revert within the 2 to 4 percent target range before settling close to the lower end of quarter four in 2023. And in the first quarter of 2024,” Manalo said. “By taming inflation through policy rate tightening the BSP contributes to ensuring sustainable S “BSP,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 54.7900 ■ JAPAN 0.4276 ■ UK 67.3479 ■ HK 7.0099 ■ SINGAPORE 41.5044 ■ AUSTRALIA 38.2818 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 14.5893 ■ EU 59.1129 ■ KOREA 0.0443 ■ CHINA 8.0943
Source: BSP (January 18, 2023)