For one, the kind of growth rates seen during the past five years are unlikely to be maintained, as many of the potential investors have already arrived. More serious issues, though, are transport and power, both of which remain weak in the Philippines after years of economic mismanagement and low government investment. The journey should take no more than 20 minutes when traffic is light. In the fast-paced world of technology, says Georges Bobin, an official with Philips Semiconductors, firms need to be able to fly regional troubleshooters in and out quickly. You can't do that here.
Electricity is also a problem.
At 11 U.S. cents a kilowatt-hour it's relatively expensive in Asian terms, and often unreliable. Just the smallest voltage fluctuation, and your products are damaged. One consequence is that most manufacturers have installed their own generators. As a new challenger to the region's other hi-tech centres, the Philippines also faces drawbacks that may become more apparent over time. Malaysia, for example, has acquired a workforce with a critical mass of technological experience.