President Aquino thanked Epson Precision Philippines Inc. (EPPI) on Thursday for opening a new factory in Lipa City, Batangas, which is expected to create 2,000 more jobs.
Epson currently employs 8,000 workers in the Philippines. The total investment of the project costs $110 million.
The Epson factory is located at the Lima Technology Center and will be manufacturing 3LCD projectors and inkjet printers.
Mr. Aquino said that at this time of global uncertainty, the launch of the new factory is “doubly important”; he thanked Epson for its continued confidence in the Philippines.
“I’d also like to point out that the inauguration of this factory significantly contributes to one of the cornerstones of our economy—the electronics industry,” he said. The industry alone employs half a million Filipinos and still growing, he said.
The President noted that investments in the electronics industry reached a record high of $2.3 billion last year. From January to September of 2011, it accounted for half of total Philippine exports.
“Suffice to say, your sector has always been one of the strong points of our economy and, make no mistake about it: We have every intention of keeping it this way,” Mr. Aquino said.
The President led the activation of the factory operation and had a tour of the newly opened facility, joined by Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) Director General Lilia de Lima, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe, EPPI President Osamu Kosiishi, EPPI Vice President Kazuyuki Amano and Seiko Epson Corp. President Minuro Usui.
Epson expects the new factory to significantly boost its production of 3LCD projector and inkjet printers to respond to the growing demand in its markets abroad.
At the inaugural ceremony of the new factory, the President also bared his administration’s efforts to help exporters through the global economic uncertainty, such as developing strategies to improve the investment climate for companies in the electronics industry, which contracted by 47.9 percent in September.
“We are aware of how the recent global crisis has made life a bit harder for all of us, including export-oriented companies like yours. So, in this light, we have been working overtime to come up with strategies to strengthen exports, including those in the electronics industry,” he said.
Amid the challenges of the global economy, the President praised Epson’s continued confidence in the Philippines.
“The strength of any corporation, any institution, any government, lies in the integrity upon which its ideals too are upheld. Passivity means erosion. By expressing their confidence in my country, EPPI has shown that they recognize this—that they believe our principles in governance will have concrete, long-term benefits for our country,” he said.
The President said the government has been “diversifying access points to manage risks in export sales” and has been studying “prospects” in North and South America, North Asia and Southeast Asian.
“We’re also actively conducting export-promotional activities such as fairs and outbound and inbound missions. We are continuously monitoring the situation; and we are doing what we can so that the environment you operate in remains conducive to growth,” Mr. Aquino said.
Apart from this, he said, concerned government agencies have been working with groups such as the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, the Electronics Industries Association of the Philippines, and the Philippine Appliance Industry Association “to make sure that your concerns are both heard and addressed at the soonest possible times.”
To improve the investment climate for companies in the electronics industry, enterprises registered with the Peza receive fiscal incentives such as income-tax holidays, export-tax exemptions, and duty-free importation of equipment.
The President added that the government provides “significant fiscal and nonfiscal incentives” under the Omnibus Investments Code for Board of Investments (BOI)-registered firms.
He said the BOI has also been working closely with the Advanced Research Center for Development and the Congressional Commission on Science and Technology to improve science, engineering, and technology research and development systems in the country.
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By: Mia Gonzalez
Source: Business Mirror, December 8, 2011
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