THE Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) is proposing the creation of a national semiconductor and electronics council to build on opportunities for the sector.

"We're proposing [the council's creation] because it is one of the success factors" behind Vietnam's growth, Seipi President Danilo Lachica told reporters at the sidelines of a forum hosted by the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.

Lachica also said that the United States was interested in enhancing the country's assembly testing and semiconductor packaging sector.

The industry group is already in talks with some executives with regard to this, he claimed.

The Seipi official also emphasized the need for local talent development, particularly in terms of assembly, testing and packaging.

It is also important to improve the supply chain, reduce operating costs, and optimize factors like power and logistics, Lachica said.

"There's a lot of opportunities that we can improve on," he added.

Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba said the proposed national council would be important in terms of driving the growth and development of the industry "toward the direction where we want it to go."

Two stages in the electronics value chain are still not present in the country, Aldaba said. "We don't have chip manufacturing in the country [and] wafer-level packaging," she noted.

"Given these gaps, part of our strategy would really be to shift to semiconductor and electronics design and services with a focus on IC or integrated circuit design," she added.

Aldaba also noted the need to upgrade the IC back-end sector to more middle-end advanced packaging technologies and develop niche original design manufacturing and sub-assembly module manufacturing.

"[L]astly, [there is] the need for us to focus as well in the electronics manufacturing services by continuing to attract more power electronics, auto electronics and consumer electronics where a lot of growth in the future is expected to take place," Aldaba said.

To achieve this, she said the Philippines should focus on building a strong innovation and research ecosystem involving the establishment of efficient standards, testing and quality assessment institutions, as well as national quality infrastructure legislation.

There is also a need for more research and development (R&D) infrastructure and investments in scientific research, along with incentives for science and technology parks to foster industry collaboration.

Strengthening intellectual property rights and more R&D infrastructure were also emphasized.

Lachica, meanwhile, said the industry appreciated agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority fpr exerting efforts to advance the local electronics industry.