THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said Samsung Electronics’ $1-billion expansion project in Laguna is targeted to begin construction by early next year.
“The latest on Samsung is that their fiscal incentives have been approved, and we are now working on the power subsidy,” PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said on the sidelines of the PEZA Water Forum 2025.
“We are about to resolve it. There is already a mechanism and formula, which we will endorse to the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) for their approval this week,” he added.
Although he did not disclose the exact figures, he said the two sides have agreed on the rates to be charged the project, which operates at the Calamba Premiere International Park in Laguna, where its unit Samsung Electro-Mechanics Corp. is currently based.
“We also talked about this in India (during the President’s state visit) with the Department of Finance. In fact, we were able to rationalize (the subsidy); we lowered the exposure of the government further,” he said.
After approval from the FIRB, the project will be endorsed to the Office of the President.
“Once we get the Office of the President’s approval, it will be endorsed to PEZA for the signing of the registration agreement,” he said.
“I think this can be done in the current quarter. I think what is critical for Samsung is for them to start construction by early January,” he added.
Separately, he said PEZA has not been notified of plans by investors to exit the country as a result of the US reciprocal tariffs, which took effect on Aug. 7.
“For the most part, we are not a big exporter to the US. Although our biggest exports like electronics go to the US, some are really exported to other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, Japan, and China,” he said.
He said that the Philippines is the least affected of the ASEAN countries.
Philippine goods entering the US market, as well as goods from Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand, were imposed a 19% tariff starting last week.
Despite losing its tariff advantage in the region, he said the Philippines continues to be a competitive destination due to its large domestic market.
“It will be difficult to go up against Vietnam and Thailand in targeting products that are strictly for export,” he said.
“But if we offer the Philippines as a huge domestic market, then that would be a compelling reason for them to locate here… and use us as a hub to export to ASEAN,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile