PSPC Receives Power Subsidy Refund; Reinvests in Phase 2 Expansion Project
Pampanga—(PHStocks)—Publicly listed Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Corp. (PSE: PSPC) received today May 5, 2017 payment of more than P668.60 million representing payment for arrears from the electric power discounts granted under Presidential Executive Order No. 856 that seeks to promote greater foreign investments in semiconductor and other power-intensive industries. Said amount covers the remaining part of the advanced payments made by PSPC for the generation and transmission cost of its electric consumptions during the 2011-2015 operations. An initial payment of more than P401 million was made on April 2016 representing the portion initially reimbursed by the National Government. The power subsidy incentive under E.O. 856 is in line with the Industry Competitiveness Fund (ICF) established through E.O. 796 in support of power-intensive industries that pour in substantial investments in the country.
PSPC shall reinvest the amount to its Phase 2 Expansion Project that the company is currently undertaking to multiply its semiconductor assembly production capacity to serve non-Samsung customers starting in the last quarter of 2017. The payment was made through Clark Development Corporation which administers the Clark Freeport Zone where PSPC’s manufacturing center is located.
“We are committed in contributing to the vision of the Philippine government to make the country a leader in the semiconductor industry,” PSPC President Byeongchun Lee said.
PSPC is being positioned by its parent company, SFA Semicon Co. Ltd (SSK), as the outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) production hub of SFA Group in Asia. This is in line with the proven outstanding manufacturing capability of the company to serve the exacting standards of global leader Samsung which it plans to leverage to serve other international electronics companies in the near future.
The construction of PSPC’s Phase 2 project expected to be completed by September has generated jobs for about 1,000 engineering and construction personnel. Once fully operational, PSPC will employ another 1,500 production floor employees and support staff for its Phase 2 semiconductor assembly, packaging and testing facility.
The Phase 2 facility, which boasts of 18,000 sqm production floor footprint, shall start ramp-up of equipment by September for target trial production runs for customers other than Samsung before the end of 2017. The company currently produces memory devices and chips that are used in PCs, servers, laptops, smart phones and other mobile products.
The company posted gross revenues of $171.82 million and net income after tax of $6.42 million in 2016. Lee pointed out that it managed to post positive profits in a challenging year marked by the global uncertainties and continued lower PC sales and weak demand for mobile devices coupled by the industry migration of product formats to more advanced technology.
