Semiconductor exports to slow down for the rest of 2010

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industry in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) is expecting to experience a slow down for the rest of 2010 even though outward shipments of semiconductors remain buoyant, said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga on Friday. Paderanga, who is also the National Economic and Development Authority chief, refused to cite any reason for the slow down of some foreign and local semiconductor and electronics companies in the Philippines. He only said that SEIPI is now crafting the electronics’ sector roadmap that will select technologies that the country should focus on such as the export of solar energy. The roadmap is expected to be released in October this year, Paderanga said. The considerable rise in the outward shipments of semiconductors (62.2 percent) followed the worldwide trend as global sales of semiconductors rose by a significant 37 percent, he pointed out. Industry sources said there are opportunities for the industry to grow further even during slower economic growth due to the continued expansion of semiconductors into a broader range of products. The National Statistics Office reported Thursday that exports in July totaled $4.5 billion, almost 36 percent higher as against the same period a year earlier. “This is the ninth consecutive month that exports registered positive year-on-year growth since global trade recovered," Paderanga said in a statement. He said the growth was supported by increases in exports of manufactured goods (40 percent), total agro-based products (16.7 percent), mineral products (15.9 percent), and petroleum products (26.8 percent). On a cumulative basis, export revenues in the first seven months of the year amounted to $28.2 billion, 37.4 percent higher as against the same period in 2009, Paderanga said. Semiconductors, electronic data processing machines, and garments accounted for 68.8 percent of the value of exports to the country’s five biggest markets in July 2010. — JE/OMG, GMANews.TV