PH electronics startup gets DBP help

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines signed a P500-million loan agreement with EMS Components Assembly Inc., the only wholly-owned Filipino private company in the electronics manufacturing industry, the bank’s top official said.

In a statement, DBP president and CEO Emmanuel Herbosa said the bank’s loan assistance would finance EMS’ expansion of products and services in line with the company’s goal of becoming one of the top players in the electronics market.

“EMS’ growth over the years has positioned the Philippines at a competitive advantage in the global electronics industry,” Herbosa said. “Partnerships such as this also proves our unwavering commitment to spur progress in the vital sectors of our economy—specifically small and medium enterprises.”

DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country with assets totaling P700.9-billion as of end September 2019. It provides loans to critical sectors of the economy such as infrastructure and logistics, small and medium enterprises, social services and community development, and the environment.

Through the bank’s loan assistance, DBP aims to support EMS in its goal to highlight Filipino workmanship as it intends to prove that electronics parts that are designed and assembled in the Philippines can equal and even out best those made in Silicon Valley.

Herbosa added that EMS, being an export-oriented company, will contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry, which is one of the leading export-earning industries, accounting for over 24 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

EMS is a complete electronic and semiconductor subcontracting group offering technology and manufacturing solutions to global brands such as Toshiba and other Japanese semi-conductor companies.

It is currently headquartered at Laguna Technohub, one of the country’s premiere industrial estates housing 239 of the world’s leading manufacturing companies. INQ