Chinese companies expected to invest in electronics, renewables
- September 25, 2023
The commitments were made on the sidelines of the China-ASEAN Expo, Ceferino S. Rodolfo, BoI managing head and Trade undersecretary, told reporters in an online briefing.
He said that one of the two potential investors is a state-owned company which claims to be the biggest renewable energy company in China and has $15 billion in investible funds for Southeast Asian projects.
“They can allot $1 billion to $5 billion for the Philippines and all of it they would like to put into renewable energy projects. The (funds) can come in as equity or for financing. And of course, they will be the technology partner,” Mr. Rodolfo said.
“They have been asking us for introductions to Philippines companies who have been active also in renewable energy projects,” he said.
The state-owned firm is involved in solar, wind, and hydropower energy projects.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rodolfo said that the second investor already has operations in Batangas and is involved in specialized segments of the consumer electronics market.
“They are just renting a facility from another company, but right now they have secured five hectares in Batangas, where they will put up a world-class plant,” he said.
He said that the second company plans to replicate its China facility in the Philippines and build a research and development hub for software here.
“At this point, (it just wants) to penetrate the Philippine market for electronic products. It does not have any plans yet in investing in an assembly line which is what we would like,” Mr. Rodolfo said.
The BoI said it approved projects worth P725.93 billion as of Sept. 12, close to exceeding the full-year total of P729 billion in 2022.
For this year, the investment promotion agency is hoping to approve P1.5 trillion worth of investments.
