NEWS: High power costs drain PHL of potential investments in electronics industry

[ghosthunter]

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/215188/b...onics-industry

[SIZE="4"]High power costs drain PHL of potential investments in electronics industry[/SIZE]
03/13/2011 | 10:32 PM

Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) chairman Dan Lachica said at a Friday press conference that the Philippines is losing out opportunities to neighbors such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, where investors find power rates less expensive.

Industrial power rates in the country are second highest in Asia, next to that of Japan and Singapore.

Lachica said a US firm that manufactures photo-voltaic cells and solar panels is currently looking for sites to set up four new factories in Asia and pour in a millions of dollars in investment, but complained that the cost of power in the Philippines is too high.

“There would be more investors if we can figure out a solution to high power cost," he said.

He said semiconductor and electronics exporters’ power expenses amount millions of dollars, even if these take up only 5 percent of total costs.

Lachica said the quality of the Filipino workforce, especially of engineers, is compensating for the uncompetitive power costs.

SEIPI president Ernesto Santiago said several semiconductor and electronics firms are expanding operations within the year, such as Texas Instruments’ planned further expansion at the Clark Freeport Zone.

Moreover, Lachica, who also serves as president and chief executive officer of the Lopez Group-led First Philec Solar Corp., disclosed that Philsec is entering into a joint venture with Nexolon of South Korea.

The joint venture called First Philec Nexolon Corp. is meant to supply the South Korean principal through a $100-million facility near First Philec’s Batangas plant. Six hundred people would be hired for this project, Lachica said.

Almost $2.3-billion worth of investments were infused into the semiconductor and electronics industry last year — the highest ever and a fourfold improvement from 2009’s $480 million worth of pledges.

Under SEIPI’s 2011-2016 roadmap, the industry targets to secure $2-billion worth of investments annually starting this year.

Semiconductor and electronics account for about two-thirds of the country’s merchandise exports. – MRT/KBK, GMA News

[uls]

go nuclear

[CVT]

Matagal nang problema ng manufacturing sector iyan.... Panay na ang kalampag sa pintuan ng Malacanan many years ago... Mayroon pang silang special representative sa mga meetings tungkol dito (para diretso sa Malacanang)....

Wala ring nangyari....

12.6K:bike3:

[ghosthunter]

Matagal nang problema ng manufacturing sector iyan.... Panay na ang kalampag sa pintuan ng Malacanan many years ago... Mayroon pang silang special representative sa mga meetings tungkol dito (para diretso sa Malacanang)....

Wala ring nangyari....

12.6K:bike3:

It is all because of the years under cory administration that she did not build new power plants. Then during the power crisis during the ramos administration, he had to make deals with the devil so "investors" would rush in to build and operate these expensive to built/operate facilities.

[kotiko]

I partly blame it on Meralco! They plug all these commercials that they're just a distributor and the cost is just passed on to their consumers and stuff, but they earn millions in net revenue. The structure of our country's power system is still the root cause though.

Well in relation to Cory and Ramos, at least Marcos had the foresight in relation to the power issue...

[badsekktor]

go nuclear

lols! sa husay natin mga pinoy eh baka kapag lumindol! kaboom!

[eld]

Hindi lang naman dahil sa kuryente dahil ayaw mag invest ng mga foreigners dito, 'no? Marami silang bad experience sa mga balasubas na Pinoy. And even famed designer Tina Ocampo moved her production to China because her workers here were "holiday-happy" and kept missing deadlines. Pinay na 'yan ha?

Besides, pag maraming mag-invest dito marami ang magkakaroon ng trabaho sa mga factory. Marami ang lalong makaka-afford ng motor. Gusto niyo bang mangyari yon? Oh, the horror! :twak:

[safeorigin]

go nuclear

nah, go hamster power

[Monseratto]

Hmm...I wonder why the figures are in $$$ instead of PHP?

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/...fit-quadruples

First Gen 2010 net profit quadruples
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 03/28/2011 12:09 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez-owned First Gen Corp. reported Monday that its 2010 earnings quadrupled, owing to higher contributions from its subsidiaries and lower interest expenses.

In a statement to the stock exchange, First Gen said its net income attributable to parent surged 319% last year to $70.2 million from $16.7 million in 2009.

Revenues likewise rose by 22% to $1.2 billion from $1 billion.

"The substantial increase in earnings was driven by the strong operating performance of the First Gas group, First Gen Hydro Power Corp. (FG Hydro) and Energy Development Corp. (EDC). These developments were complemented by the positive effects of the company's deleveraging program," First Gen President Giles Puno said.

First Gas' 1,000-megawatt (MW) Sta. Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo natural gas-fired plants were the main revenue drivers, delivering earnings of $130.1 million in 2010.

There was also notable increase in equity in net earnings of associates EDC and FG Hydro.

Geothermal firm EDC contributed a net income of $52.5 million in 2010, up by $21.5 million from $31 million in 2009. The improvement was due to the full-year operation of its 192.5-MW Palinpinon and 112-MW Tongonan power plants, tax credits and lower deferred taxes.

FG Hydro, on the other hand, gave an income contribution of $9.9 million, $8.4 million higher than 2009's $1.5 million. The firm enjoyed better prices at the electricity spot market and higher dispatch levels.

First Gen, meanwhile, said it was able to reduce its interest expenses after buying back some debts. Other than its scheduled amortizations, First Gen said it bought back and retired $74 million in face value of its convertible bond, and paid off a $5 billion bond.

"The paydown of debt resulted in lower interest expenses in 2010 at $104.2 million compared to 2009's $112.1 million."

First Gen, a unit of conglomerate First Philippine Holdings Corp., is one of the country's biggest power producers.

[uls]

wow

i think they have to report in $ coz their debt is $ denominated

[shakatak70]

Di lang "High power costs drain PHL of potential investments in electronics industry" kundi....


Bureaucratic Red Tape at higit sa lahat....

LABOR UNIONS.