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DESPITE THE BRAINS, PINOYS MISSING THE SEMICON BOAT
Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, known as ‘saint of the north’ in Peru for his closeness to poor
The Philippines has all the key elements for expanding its wings in the global electronics industry, so what is holding it back?
CARDINAL Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, poses for a photo at the end of the consistory where Pope Francis elevated 21 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, September 30, 2023. AP/RICCARDO DE LUCA
By Franklin Biceno and Nicole Winfield The Associated Press
DRAGONIMAGES | DREAMSTIME.COM
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By John Eiron R. Francisco
ITH global interest in engineering waning despite surging demand for integrated circuit (IC) design and semiconductors, industry experts believe the Philippines— equipped with growing local expertise— stands at the cusp of a major opportunity to expand its share in the global semiconductor market.
“It is such an important industry. It could have so many benefits for our economy and we could become a leader of innovation on the global stage,” Christine Gojar, Xinyx Design Corporate Communications Executive, said on Friday at Colegio de Muntinlupa during the firm’s launching event of LAB by Xinyx. Xinyx Design, the largest IC design house in Southeast Asia
and recently expanded into the Netherlands, is a premier fabless semiconductor firm headquartered in the Philippines. The company supports clients worldwide and boasts a workforce of over 425 engineers and professionals specializing in IC design, layout, verification, research and development, and ecosystem advancement.
GLOBAL SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY FORECAST (2025) $167.7B Q1 2025 revenue ( 18.8% YoY) $600B projected full-year revenue n Memory semiconductors: $250B (2025 est.) n Drivers: AI, 5G, Automotive, Cloud Computing n n
Charade Avondo, President and General Manager of Xinyx Design Consultancy, on the broader value of nurturing local semiconductor talent: “If the government focuses on the semiconductor industry, we can support critical sectors—military, healthcare, infrastructure, even the Philippine Space Agency. There’s no need to rely solely on imported technology when we have the talent and capability here.”
Citing global data, Gojar noted that the semiconductor industry is facing a shortage of over one million skilled professionals worldwide. She emphasized that this presents a valuable opportunity for the Philippines to step in and address the talent gap. She also pointed out that even Taiwan—already a global
leader in semiconductors—experienced a shortage of around 25,000 engineers in 2023. “If we take the opportunity and produce more engineers, we can easily leapfrog our way into development for our country,” Gojar added. On the global front, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the global semiconductor market is experiencing unprecedented growth. In the first quarter of 2025, global semiconductor sales reached $167.7 billion, an 18.8-percent increase compared to the same period in 2024. The market is projected to surpass $600 billion in total revenue for 2025, with an expected yearContinued on A2
DBM chief: PHL can still hit growth goal despite jitters By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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FTER the Philippine economy’s lackluster growth in the first quarter, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said on Friday she is “optimistic” that the country will hit its growth target for the year amid increasing global economic uncertainties. The country’s gross domestic product, or the total value of all goods and services produced within a country, grew by 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2025/05/08/phl-economysteadies-at-5-4-in-q1-2025/).
This was cooler than the 5.9 percent expansion in the same period last year, but slightly quicker than the 5.3-percent pace in the final quarter of 2024. The Cabinet-level Development Budget and Coordination Committee (DBCC), chaired by Pangandaman, has set the growth target at 6 to 8 percent this year until 2028. The Budget secretary said that with government’s capital spending, which grew 8.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, a “high growth” trajectory can be sustained. Pangandaman cited the na-
U.S. TARIFFS ON PH EXPORTS – TIMELINE AND OUTLOOK May 2025: 17% reciprocal tariffs imposed June 2025 (Forecast): Expected rollback to 10–15% (per ANZ) n Impact: <1% on PH GDP (per Pangandaman) n n
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman: “Even with US tariffs, the impact on GDP is less than 1 percent—we’re okay.”
tional budget’s role in the country’s economic growth, translating to an 18.7-percent growth of the Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) during the period—the highest year-on-year growth since
the second quarter of 2020. “This is why we cannot emphasize enough the important role that government spending performance plays in stimulating the economy, especially amidst the expected Continued on A2
ATICAN CITY—Robert Prevost may have made history Thursday by becoming the first pope from the United States. But in Peru, he is known as the saintly missionary who waded through mud after torrential rains flooded the region, bringing help to needy people, and as the bishop who spearheaded the life-saving purchase of oxygen production plants during the Covid-19 pandemic. “He worked so hard to find help, that there was not only enough for one plant, but for two oxygen plants,” said Janinna Sesa, who met Prevost while she worked for the church’s Caritas nonprofit in Peru. “He has no problem fixing a broken-down truck until it runs,” she added. Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pope, clearly saw something in Prevost early on. He first sent him to Chiclayo in 2014, then brought him to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church.
On Thursday, Prevost ascended to become Pope Leo XIV—the first pontiff from the United States. Prevost, 69, had to overcome the taboo against an American pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the US in the secular sphere. The Chicago native is also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as bishop. He evoked his broad missionary experience in his first public remarks as pope, speaking in Italian, then switching to Spanish—and saying not a word in English as he addressed the crowd in St. Peter’s Square. “Together, we must try to find out how to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, dialogues, that’s always open to receive—like on this piazza with open arms— to be able to receive everybody that needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love,” he said. The new pope had prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have. Prevost was twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinians, the 13thcentury religious order founded by St. Augustine. Continued on A2
March agri trade logs $889-M deficit—PSA By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
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GRICULTURAL imports outstripped exports in March, widening the trade gap and offsetting previous gains, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. The International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS) indicated that the $889.15-million figure marked a 2-percent increase from the same month last year, a slight increase compared to February’s sharper 17- percent jump. A year earlier, in March 2024, the deficit had narrowed by nearly 19 percent. Overall, the country’s total agricultural trade hit $2.32 billion in March, up 10.6 percent from the previous year. This was slower than February’s 20.2-percent growth but a rebound from the 8.5-percent drop recorded in March 2024. Agricultural exports were on the upswing, growing by 16.7 percent year-on-year to $715.76 million. These farm goods made up 10.9 percent of the country’s total outbound shipments. Almost all of March’s export revenue, which was at 97 percent, came from the top 10 commodity groups. This brought in $694.22 million, up 17.8 percent from the year before.
WIDENING AGRICULTURAL TRADE GAP–MARCH 2025 Agricultural Exports: $715.76M (+16.7%) Agricultural Imports: $1.60B (+8%) n Trade Deficit: $889.15M n Compared to March 2024: Deficit up 2% n n
Leading the pack were fats and oils from animals, plants, or microbes, including waxes and edible fats, which raked in $249.13 million or 34.8 percent of total agricultural exports. On the import side, the country brought in $1.60 billion worth of agricultural goods in March, accounting for 15 percent of total imports. This was 8 percent higher than the $1.49 billion spent in March last year. The top 10 import groups, led by cereals, made up $1.33 billion, or 82.8 percent of total agricultural imports. These priority groups grew 3.8 percent year-on-year, with cereals alone amounting to $290.64 million or 18.1 percent of the March total. According to PSA, the IMTS helps compute the balance of payments, guides economic policy and supports research.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.5690 n JAPAN 0.3809 n UK 73.6456 n HK 7.1486 n CHINA 7.6700 n SINGAPORE 42.7618 n AUSTRALIA 35.5530 n EU 62.4040 n KOREA 0.0396 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8156 Source: BSP (May 9, 2025)