TI’s chip plant in Philippines
Many people in India, especially real estate agents, think that current boom in India would last for at least 10 more years. That’s the basis for obscene real estate prices in all major cities of India.
Here is an example to prove them wrong. The current boom won’t last for even five more years, if we don’t fix up our infrastructure and attitude.
Texas Instruments recently chose Philippines for its chip plant. Philippines beat China and India for the spot. Its success in beating out China and India for the site of TI’s new $1 billion assembly plant highlights the country’s economic revival and challenges the conventional view that China is Asia’s most cost-effective factory floor.
The semiconductor giant’s investment also is a vote of confidence in the Philippines’ recent financial stability. And shows how international companies are now looking at alternatives to investing in China and India.
Texas Instruments’ executives visiting Manila said the highly skilled workers at its existing chip plant in the Philippines persuaded the company to open a second plant there, despite intense competition to attract Texas Instruments’ investment from India and China.
Land prices on China’s industrial coastal belt are rising, and wages have been seeing double-digit growth for several years — bringing them closer to, and in some cases, higher than — the cost of hiring skilled workers in countries such as the Philippines. Same thing happens in India too ““ land prices went to bubble stage, wages have been rising and attrition level is climbing much faster.
Intel is also increasing its investments outside China, partially to secure its global supply chains in case of disruptions from any one location. Intel announced plans earlier this year to build a $1 billion chip-testing and assembly plant in Vietnam, and has also increased its investments in Malaysia.
Indian government officials were shocked last year when Intel Corp. chose Vietnam over India as the site for a new chip assembly plant. Although Intel declined to comment, industry insiders say the reason was largely the lack of reliable power and water in India.
Related Link: Trouble with India
