TAIWAN SEEKS DEEPER PHL INDUSTRIAL TIES
A Taiwanese brake manufacturer is eyeing expansion in the Philippines. An electric-bus maker is considering a factory here. More may follow.
FILIPINO workers put together computers at Taiwan’s Acer factory in Subic Bay in 1996. Taiwan was already making things in the Philippines 30 years ago. Now it wants to do more, with a proposed economic corridor designed to bring more Taiwanese manufacturers into Luzon.
Photograph courtesy of AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Taiwan is seeking to expand its manufacturing ties with the Philippines through a proposed economic corridor connecting Taiwanese businesses with industrial and transport hubs in Luzon.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on 15 September that Taipei had proposed linking the Taiwan-Philippines Economic Corridor with the Luzon Economic Corridor, an initiative launched by the Philippines, US and Japan to promote infrastructure and industrial investment.
The proposal seeks to strengthen supply chains and encourage greater economic cooperation between Taiwan and the Philippines.
The effort was already underway last year.
In August 2025, a Taiwanese trade delegation visited the Philippines to explore investment opportunities.
The delegation included representatives from industries such as semiconductors, electronics, energy and agriculture.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the visit was intended to advance cooperation between the two corridor initiatives.
Philippine officials have since stepped up efforts to attract Taiwanese manufacturers.
In February, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. held an investment forum in Taipei attended by more than 70 investors and other participants.
The forum showcased Philippine industrial parks offering ready-built factories and facilities that could be constructed according to investors’ requirements.
Participants discussed land leases, utility costs and infrastructure needed to establish operations in Philippine economic zones.
PEZA also met representatives of Elig Brake Technologies, a manufacturer of automotive and industrial braking components already operating in the Philippines.
According to PEZA, the company expressed interest in expanding its operations, including possible research and development activities and additional production lines.
Another investment mission followed in March, when more than 100 participants attended a Philippine investment forum in Taipei.
PEZA reported discussions with an electric-bus manufacturer considering a Philippine factory and a food manufacturer exploring a production facility in an economic zone.
Neither project was announced as a finalized investment.
During the visit, PEZA signed an agreement with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office to strengthen investment promotion and business connections.
The proposed corridor would build on existing industrial ties between Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer, and the Philippines, which has established electronics manufacturing operations.