Taiwan electronics firm to invest add’l $31M

MANILA, Philippines - Taiwanese electronics company New Kinpo, which is expected to start operations at its facility in Batangas by the end of next month, is pouring in an additional $31 million this year for expansion projects.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the company’s newest factory in Batangas, to be operated by subsidiary Kinpo Electronics Inc., would start operations by the end of the first quarter this year.

New Kinpo chief executive officer Simon Shen said the company’s operations would serve as the main production base of consumer electronics products such as calculators and electronic keyboards for a known Japanese brand.

According to the DTI, the firm, which already invested $31.5 million to put up the facility, is spending another $31 million for the factory’s expansion this year.

The projects are expected to provide 4,000 to 6,000 jobs.

The new investments are likewise seen to contribute to around 10 to 30 percent of New Kinpo’s total revenues this year.

With the growth of companies like Kinpo Electronics Group in the Philippines, to which New Kinpo is a part of, Trade undersecretary Ponciano Manalo Jr. said the Philippines is able to benefit in Taiwan’s progress as a major supply chain source of industries in the region.

At the same time, he said the country is able to strengthen its ties with Taiwan.

 “We are continuously bringing to fruition government’s efforts to boost Philippine economic relations with Taiwan as we welcome more inbound trade missions from Taiwan and enable businesses like New Kinpo to flourish in the Philippines,” he said.

Kinpo Electronics Group,  a leading global original design manufacturer and electronics manufacturing services partner, has a total of 96,000 employees worldwide and 23 subsidiaries.

The group produces a wide range of consumer electronics products such calculators, printers, 3D printers, external hard disc drives, modems, and motherboards for brands like HP, Toshiba, Western Digital, and Casio.

In the Philippines, the group has made investments in subsidiaries such as AcBel Polytech Inc. for the manufacture of light-emitting diode lighting and smart grid solutions, as well as in CalComp Electronics and Communications Co. for the production of handsets, printers, and Liquid-crystal-display television units.