Vol. XXI, No. 228-A [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Saturday, June 21, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd on Friday said expansion plans at the former US Air base in Clark, Pampanga forms part of a larger growth plan in the Southeast Asian region.
In a telephone interview from the company’s headquarters in Seoul, Samsung Spokesman Ahn Jae-Kwang said the Korean firm was "exploring investment opportunities" in several countries in the region, including the Philippines.
He declined to divulge investment figures, denying reports that it would nivestment as much as $1 billion in the Philippines.
And while the Philippines is an investment candidate for the world’s largest memory chip maker, "no decisions have been made."
In March, Samsung said the Philippines was one of the countries in the region it was considering to be the home of its new electronics plant.
Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said "encouraging progress had been made" in talks with the electronics giant to snag a $1-billion investment.
Earlier this month, the Clark Development Corp., said it was anticipating the entry of another semiconductor company to equal the billion dollar investment of
American mobile phone chip maker Texas Instruments, which has started construction of its 30-hectare facility in Clark.
Samsung Electronics Philippines Manufacturing Corp. makes optical disc drives at its facility in Calamba, Laguna. It also has a unit, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Philippines Corp, which makes chip resistors used in an array of products, from refrigerators to mobile phones.
Samsung Electronics is the flagship company of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, the Samsung Group. — Paolo Luis G. Montecillo
______________________________________________________________________
