Electronics industry group sees future in solar-powered equipment

THE PHILIPPINES will do well to increase its presence in the global supply chain for solar electronics, an industry group said yesterday.

This fast-growing segment will be among the new niches to be recommended for government support in an industry road map slated for completion by October, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) officials said.

“Solar energy may be the largest source of power in the future,” SEIPI Chairman Dan C. Lachica, who is also managing director of the Lopez-owned solar wafer manufacturer First Philippine Electric Corp., said in a press briefing.

Higher demand for energy, coupled with increasing environmental consciousness and state incentives for eco-friendly technologies, are projected to drive the growth of the solar industry, he said.

“If we would like to give the economy a shot in the arm; maybe it’s time to start something different,” Mr. Lachica said.

So far, solar electronics has accounted for just 4% or $80 million of the $2.2-billion total industry sales in 2009, he said.

Operations are currently in wafer slicing and the assembly of solar cells which are intermediate products.

But the opportunity also exists for the Philippines to host ingot manufacturing investments to supply the industry, Mr. Lachica said.

This has the potential to grow by more than 12 times “in a year or two” to roughly $1 billion just between the two existing solar electronics companies alone, he said.

“This is how the world is shaping up,” SEIPI President Ernesto B. Santiago for his part said.

Solar electronics, he said, will be among the list of new niches the Philippines should go into to grow the industry.

The list will be the core of the “technology road map” the group hopes to present to Malacañang by October, Mr. Santiago said. It will contain needed government interventions and incentives for each recommended niche, he said without elaborating.

“We want to refine the list further. One criteria is what we have capabilities in, what businesses we already have right now,” Mr. Santiago said.

He went on to reiterate SEIPI’s forecasts for the year: export sales should grow by 25%-30% over the $2.2 billion recorded in 2009, which itself was down by a fifth from 2008.

The group also hopes the Philippines will lure $1 billion worth of investments this year versus just $469 million in 2009.

For January-July, investments had totalled $510.79 million, Mr. Santiago said. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, Businessworld