Philippines unveils technology corridor
October 25, 2026
The Board of Investments (BOI) is advancing a broader Philippine Technology Corridor that links strategic industry hubs across the country, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto with U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton in a photo released on July 31, 2026 after their meeting to discuss the Luzon Economic Corridor and Pax Silica projects. (Courtesy: U.S. Embassy in the Philippines)
The corridor covers advanced manufacturing in New Clark City, IC design in Metro Manila, critical minerals in Mindanao, AI infrastructure in Batangas, connectivity in Aurora and prospective wafer fabrication in Bulacan, Recto said.
The government will underpin the drive by improving infrastructure, developing Filipino talent, implementing predictable rules and resolving investment bottlenecks fairly and quickly.
In Tarlac province, a 1,600-hectare technology and advanced manufacturing hub in New Clark City is forecast to generate 130,000 jobs, Recto said.
The hub is part of the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC), a Subic-Clark-Metro Manila-Batangas link where state and private investment will focus on transport, logistics, energy, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. The LEC aims to create 1 million jobs.
Recto said that electronics and semiconductors are driving merchandise exports to historic levels, with shipments reaching an all-time high of $64 billion in the first eight months of 2026 and strengthening the country’s position in the global technology supply chain.
Recto, chair of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Advisory Council, said the record output validates President Marcos Jr.’s directive to move the Philippines beyond assembly and into higher-value activities.
He said investors increasingly see the Philippines as a choice not only for manufacturing and assembly but also for chip design, engineering, research and innovation.
Recto said that as demand for AI, semiconductors and data centers grows, so do opportunities for Filipino workers, engineers and businesses.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that merchandise exports in August rose 27.8 percent from a year ago to $9.1 billion, a 35-year monthly high.
Electronic products drove most of the growth, generating US$6.2 billion, or 68 percent of total exports for the month. From January to August, electronics exports grew 26.2 percent to US$37.1 billion.
The United States remained the top export destination, buying US$12.3 billion worth of goods, or almost 20 percent of the total for the period.
Reflecting industry confidence, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) raised its 2026 electronics export growth forecast to 10 percent, or about US$54 billion, amid rising global demand for AI and data-center infrastructure.
SEIPI credited the Marcos administration’s CREATE MORE Act for strengthening investment incentives, particularly for registered export enterprises.
Toshiba’s planned multi-billion-peso expansion over the next three years illustrates the trend. The company will ramp up production of high-capacity hard disk drives for data centers, creating about 3,000 jobs.
To sustain the momentum, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Advisory Council recently launched the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Roadmap, targeting $110 billion in annual exports by 2030.
By then, the government aims to raise the Philippines’ share of global semiconductor assembly, test and packaging from 4 percent to 7 percent and capture 4 percent of global electronics manufacturing services.
Building an integrated circuit (IC) design sector is expected to add $2 billion to $3 billion in annual export receipts.
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