MANILA: Growth in Philippines’ electronics exports this year will only be half as much as in 2015, reflecting slow demand from major market China, the head of the country’s biggest industry group said here the other day.
After rising 7.9 percent in 2015, shipments of electronic products, the Southeast Asian country’s largest export item, are only expected to increase by 0-4 percent this year, said Danilo Lachica, president of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc (SEIPI).
“We’re looking at single-digit growth because the major economies haven’t fully recovered, especially with China being one of our biggest export markets,” Lachica told Reuters by phone.
China, the world’s No. 2 economy, saw its slowest growth in a quarter of a century in 2015. The country’s central bank said it still has room and tools in its monetary policy to deal with potential downside risks to the economy this year.
Philippine imports dropped about 26 percent in December, the sharpest fall since 2009, signalling tougher days ahead for one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.
Imports of semiconductors, which the country re-exports as electronics products, contracted almost 40 percent.
Lachica said domestic manufacturers used up remaining inventory, leading to the decline in semiconductor imports in December, when no plants were shut. Imports of semiconductors have risen from June to November.
Electronics exports this year from the Philippines would be driven by demand for high-end products like Internet-connected devices and cloud storage, and high data consumption, Lachica said.
The Philippine government lowered its 2016 export growth target to 5 percent from 6 percent, citing a “very challenging” external environment. It also cut its economic growth goal to 6.8-7.8 percent from 7-8 percent.
SEIPI is comprised of 270 semiconductors and electronics manufacturers including units of Samsung Electronics and Texas Instruments, employing more than 2 million workers.
