MANILA: The Philippines hopes to sign a Pax Silica framework deal with the United States within this year, Finance Secretary Frederick Go said on Tuesday (July 7).
* The Philippines in April became the 13th country to join Pax Silica, the US-led initiative to secure AI and semiconductor supply chains. It has been negotiating a framework for a 4,000-acre industrial hub north of Manila.
* US officials and more than a dozen company representatives, including Foxconn's chairman, visited New Clark City in May to assess the proposed hub site.
* Go identified Foxconn as the planned tech hub's anchor, with electronics component manufacturing as the priority investment.
* The US State Department currently lists 23 signatories to the Pax Silica declaration, from Australia, India, Japan and South Korea to the European Union, Britain, Argentina, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. - Reuters
