Electronics investments in the first five months this year went up by 957 percent to $437 million, exceeding the $397 million investments in the entire of 2008, while exports grew 44 percent amid an industry slowdown in the second semester this year that may limit industry exports growth to the lower end of the 25-30 percent growth target this year.

This was revealed by Ernesto Santiago, president of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines during a press conference of the interim meeting for the World Electronics Forum (WEF) to be held January next year in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“We are still doing very well despite a slowdown that players are starting to feel in the third quarter that is extending up to the fourth quarter and hopefully will not extend to 2011,” Santiago said noting of some slowdown in orders.

Comparatively, investments in the first five months of 2009 reached only $41.34 million. The January-May investments also exceeded the entire $397 million of 2008 and are expected to top the $460 million of the whole of 2009. SEIPI is targeting $1 billion worth of investments inflow this year.

Santiago said the growth in investments was led by the $135 million initial investments of Samsung-owned Phoenix Semiconductors Philippines Corp. for an electronics manufacturing facility at the Clark Freeport Zone.

Nonetheless, Santiago said that players are meeting in Baguio next week to reassess the industry’s growth, which is likely to settle its growth target to 25 percent after revising upward its growth target to 25-30 percent from the original 20 percent.

World industry experts Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association of the U.S., and Prof. K.B. Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Electronic Industries Association, however, said the 25 -30 percent growth target of the Philippines is very doable.

Chan explained that semiconductor exports account for 37 percent of the country’s total electronics exports and until now this sector has remained relevant in entire electronics business.

He said there is a shortage in semiconductor devices because this sector did not expand during the crisis and has held expansion until now.

“This means shortage in chips, diodes and transistors supply. This means the Philippines could still ride high,” he said.