WITH Taiwan among the Philippines’ closest partners in Asean, Taiwanese firms are looking to the country as a prime spot to expand their businesses, hoping to build deeper commercial and technology partnerships.
At the recent Taiwan Expo 2026, about 125 Taiwanese firms introduced their solutions and services to the Philippines, focusing mainly on potential investments in digital and physical infrastructure and addressing uneven access to essential services across the country.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Dr. Chin-Tsang Ho said the Philippines and Taiwan already have a strong foundation, as both share important economic and industrial partnerships, especially with complementary industries.
‘Taiwan and the Philippines have long enjoyed close economic ties with…complementary industries,’ Dr. Ho said. ‘We already have a strong foundation in electronic manufacturing, ICT, semiconductors, smart technologies, and energy, creating even more opportunities for deeper industrial cooperation.’
He also hoped the linkage with Japan could include the Philippines, saying the three working together would open new opportunities to explore.
‘Through Taiwan-Japan cooperation and fair markets…we can combine Taiwan’s technology and manufacturing strength, Japan’s industrial resources, and the Philippines’ local market and talent to explore new opportunities in smart cities, bring transformation, and industrial operations,’ the official added.
He also shared that the Taiwan-Japan-Philippines Industrial Cooperation Forum took place alongside the event.
Diversifying operations
IN total, Taiwan brought 125 firms to the expo, representing the lifestyle, energy, healthcare, agriculture, and industrial sectors. Additionally, it shone a spotlight on the semiconductor sector.
James C. F. Huang, who chairs the Taiwan External Trade Development Council or TAITRA, said on the sidelines of the event that Taiwan companies are looking at the Philippines to diversify their operations.
‘Because of the restructuring of our proposed partnership, Taiwanese companies are trying to diversify their operations, and the Philippines has become one of the most favorable destinations for Taiwanese companies in electronic manufacturing and semiconductor-related industries,’ Huang explained. ‘The Philippines is our closest neighbor in terms of Asean-based countries. [It is one of the most vibrant economies in the entire region]…it also has a very young population and a huge domestic market.’
When asked which industry would benefit most from this partnership, Huang projected that technology-related industries, particularly those incorporating artificial intelligence, would see the most success, especially as they overlap with other sectors such as healthcare. According to him, ‘We are very interested in working with Filipino companies in the area of new technologies, particularly in the field of AI applications.’
He added that they ‘can be seen in… smart healthcare: they use a lot of [AI] technologies,’ and that things like edge computing, industrial PC, automation and smart manufacturing were among the beneficiaries.
Huang added that Taiwan companies are interested in working with electronic manufacturing-related industries.
He projected that the expo will bring substantial business deals: ‘We think there’s potential [in Taiwanese-Philippine cooperation]… we estimate that this year’s Taiwan Expo…will facilitate business deals for more than $100 million.’