Recently, there have been reports indicating that the Philippines is actively engaging with Taiwan’s TSMC and UMC to establish a wafer foundry operation, seeking both equipment and expertise. This comes in the wake of Taiwan’s Economic Minister, Wang Mei-Hua, proposing a plan to build a green energy plant in the Philippines and send the green electricity back to Taiwan, which has sparked discussions.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) is in talks with TSMC and UMC about setting up operations. SEIPI President Danilo Lachica stated that they are collaborating with officials from the Philippines Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan to discuss potential partnerships.
Lachica expressed, “I hope that TSMC, UMC, or any other companies interested in establishing foundries overseas will consider deploying their depreciated equipment to the Philippines. We will train Filipino workers so that these companies can allocate personnel to their operations worldwide.”
However, establishing a chip manufacturing facility could require an initial investment in the billions of dollars. The Philippines has been lagging behind Southeast Asian neighbors like Malaysia and Singapore in the development of its semiconductor industry.
About the author