PGMA's Speech during the Opening Ceremony of the ASEAN Electronics Business Opportunities Exhibition and Conference

Rizal Ballroom, Makati Shangri-la Hotel, Makati City, 07 Dec 2006
Thank you, Secretary Favila.

Leaders of the electronics industry in the Philippines and in ASEAN; government officials; ladies and gentlemen.

To our ASEAN delegates, welcome to the Philippines!

We're here today because in 2003 the ASEAN leaders signed the Bali concord reaffirming our shared vision of dynamic Southeast Asian nations gathered around three pillars -- the ASEAN security community, the ASEAN economic community, and ASEAN socio-cultural community -- to be realized by 2020.

In the summit we will be holding in Cebu, we will stress on the ASEAN socio-cultural community to be reached by 2020, that is why we have the theme of 'One Caring and Sharing Community' to stress that ASEAN is not only a trade association but a socio-cultural association that cares for one another's members.

But today, here in this electronics conference and exhibit, we are stressing on the economic community. And when indeed we signed in Bali the agreement to form an ASEAN economic community as a first step, ASEAN member countries agreed to develop road maps on eleven priority sectors. One of these eleven priority sectors is electronics. Country coordinators were assigned to each priority sector. The Philippines' task was to shepherd the integration in the electronic sector.

We are proud and happy to be in this role. And we host this event at a time when electronics plays a major role in improving the economic indicators for our country -- the lowest inflation in the last 29 months. The Philippines is now a net lender rather than a borrower. In other words, our deposit for instance in the World Bank and the ADB and the IMF is bigger than our loans from them.

The stock market has remained bullish for some time, and Philippine bonds are up. We are due for a credit upgrade. Investors are buying into a new deal.

And despite losses from three successive super typhoons -- and may I take this opportunity to thank our ASEAN brothers who have very quickly come over, sent planes, planeloads of assistance to our victims of the disaster - inspite of these disasters, we expect our growth projections to be met.

Our economic reforms have likewise resulted in savings. Now reinvested among other things in I.C.T. infrastructure programs.

Indeed, the Philippine economy is gaining momentum on the back of stringent economic and fiscal reforms, and with the huge support of the semiconductor and electronics industries -- our top export -- as well as the rest of the national enterprises, we have been able to turn the economy around.

Our electronics industry will be among the major beneficiaries of the improved airports, seaports, roads and telecommunications systems coming up on the horizon. And we are very happy to be a leading player in a very dynamic industry in ASEAN.

ASEAN's vibrant electronics industry reverberates in today's event. We, ASEAN, are a force in the world as the home of global giants such as Intel, Texas instruments, Toshiba, Hitachi, Panasonic and many others. This meeting marks our collective determination to be an even more competitive player through robust regional integration.

This year, the world's total electronics output is forecast to be worth over 1.5 trillion dollars. By 2009, it's projected to reach over 1.7 trillion dollars.

But this year also, China is expected to surpass the U.S.A.'s production of 300 billion dollars to become the world's top manufacturers. That is why if we want to be and continue to be a major player in the region and in the world, this is one of the best arguments for the speedy integration of our region's electronics and other industries.

We are determined to give our best for ASEAN to attain the agreed targets of our electronics road map, particularly the goal of 24/7 customs operations and the exchange of trade documents among member countries.

We aim to meet these targets in December 2007 for countries with mature electronics industries. And in the Philippines, I'm glad to hear from our officials that in fact we are ahead of this December 2007 target. In our export lane, we are already 24/7. And in our airport, we're open up to 12:00 o' clock because no planes carrying electronics come in after 12.

We're also determined by 2007 to have the establishment of a super green lane for each of our economies. And as I said, in the Philippines we're ahead of our target. As a rule, the ASEAN working economies are on track, intensifying regional investment activities, linking up databases -- as mentioned by Francis Ferrer -- accelerating the implementation of mutual recognition arrangements for electrical and electronic equipment, harmonizing technical regulations, and facilitating cooperation in testing and accreditation.

The Cebu summit and the next ASEAN Leaders' Summit in Singapore next year will see more action in checking actions taken and refining other measures to ensure that we're all geared towards turning the region's diversities into opportunities for complementation.

Aside from stressing on the socio-cultural community, especially through our theme of 'One Caring and Sharing Community,' we also want the Cebu summit to be a different summit as far as the business summit is concerned. We want to have more interaction with the business summit. And we... I would for one want the leaders to be more involved in the efforts to integrate our eleven economic sectors which make up the bulk of the trade among our economies.

I have noticed in the past that when the leaders speak of ASEAN integration, they talk more about the free trade area. They don't talk as much about the integration of our eleven sectors. And I would like that to be somehow corrected, but we need the private sector to push the government sector to do what has to be done. Therefore, let me invite the electronics companies in ASEAN to take a stronger stand in urging your governments along the following lines:

    - the elimination of tariff barriers for all electronic products in the region;
    - working towards a wider supplier base and lowering production      costs for foreign investors; and
    - acting with dispatch on the creation of a single home market and production platform that's friendly to global investors.

For starters, companies can remind their respective governments of the commitment to set up green lanes and single window call systems, the 24/7 customs operations, and to adopt e-business compatible standards.

Indeed, it is important because it's the electronics industry that does the actual production. The government is only supposed to do the environment that will make your production efficient, competitive and conducive to integration. Therefore, I ask everyone to support integration, liberalization and cooperation among ASEAN countries especially in electronics.

Let us all support the vision of outward-looking ASEAN nations. Let's not look at one another as rivals but as countries that can complement each other. Electronics is a big export for the Philippines, it's also a big import. That's because we don't produce the whole product by ourselves. We produce it among ourselves in ASEAN and that's the way it should be.

We should be nations that complement each other, that live in peace, stability and prosperity. We should be nations bonded together as one dynamic community, one caring and sharing society.

Mabuhay ang ASEAN! Welcome once again to all of you!

Thank you.

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