[ Manila Bulletin Online ] June 20, 2008
By BERNIE CAHILES–MAGKILAT
Global giant Samsung Electronics is investing $ 1 billion in a 30-hectare lot in Clark Special Economic Zone after almost a year of intense courtship by the Philippine government to locate its microchip manufacturing facility in the country.
A source from the Subic Clark Alliance Development Council said that Samsung, the only Asian conglomerate that made it as the world’s largest chipmaker business, is expected to start construction within the year.
According to the official, the Board of Investments pursued the huge investments and brought the Korean chaebol first to Subic Bay but the Freeport has a limited area for the facility. As a result, the government offered the sprawling Clark, which Samsung appreciated.
Actually, the negotiation with Samsung lasted for about a year or just shortly after the official announcement by Texas Instruments, largest chipmaker for mobile phones, of its $ 1 billion investments in Clark.
But the negotiation was further delayed because of the resignation of its chairman Lee Kun-hee on $ 113 million tax evasion charges.
At present, Samsung has two operations in the country – Samsung Electronics Philippines Manufacturing Corp. (SEPHIL) and Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. (SEPCO).
SEPHIL, which is located in Calamba Premier International Park, produces optical disc drives for its global network. On the other hand, SEPCO is Samsung’s local marketing arm for its finished products.
Samsung has also manufacturing operations in each of the ASEAN country except Singapore, which hosts its regional headquarters.
The entry of Samsung in Clark will boost the ecozone as a hub for electronics chipmaking, the official said.
"This means the country can move upstream to design and manufacturing as opposed to the low valueadded testing and packaging operations," the source said.
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