J. Albert Gamboa l 29 April 2022 l The Manila Times, FINEX Files
Two new laws were enacted recently that have been met with excitement by the business community. First was Republic Act No. 11659, which amends the nearly century-old Public Service Act (PSA) that was passed during the Commonwealth era. The amendments to the PSA allow foreign investors to operate in the Philippine public services sector.
Next was Republic Act No. 11697 or the “Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act of 2022” which lapsed into law last April 15. This will ensure the Philippines’ energy security and independence by reducing reliance on imported fuel for the transportation sector while promoting innovation in clean and sustainable energy to accelerate social progress and human development.
The passage of these laws was welcomed by the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), an agency directly under the Office of the President. Both will pave the way for the establishment of the country’s first electric vehicle (EV) ecozone within the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB).
Provincial officials of Bataan, along with AFAB officers, met last month with the team of Elon Musk-owned Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) to explore the possiblity of locating the Starlink low earth orbit satelllite internet operations of SpaceX inside FAB. The local government and ecozone officials are looking to support e-vehicle use by putting up charging stations in the freeport zone as well as in other areas of Bataan.
With the abundance of nickel in the Philippines, another Musk-owned firm, Tesla Inc., may be enticed to locate at FAB’s EV ecozone since nickel is a crucial component of e-vehicle batteries such as the 4680 cells that Tesla would be using for projects like the Cybertruck and the next-generation Roadster.
Indonesia, the world’s top nickel producer with an output of 1 million metric tons (MT) in 2021, has been courting Musk for a potential nickel deal by sending a delegation to Musk’s Gigafactory in Texas. The Philippines ranked next to Indonesia last year in terms of nickel production with 370,000 MT, followed by Russia at 250,000 MT.
Based on the passage of RA 11659 and RA 11698, our country has now become competitive with Indonesia as an EV manufacturing hub. In fact, British company Twisted Automotive is planning to list on the GlobalTradeX (GTX), a digital asset exchange that is headquartered in the FAB ecozone. GTX is a subsidiary of iWave Inc., a Filipino-Japanese joint venture.
Twisted Automotive combines EVs with vintage cars like the Land Rover Defender. It will soon roll out an electric Defender known as the NAS-E, replacing the original V8 engine with an electric motor. By using GTX to raise funds, Twisted may possibly open its Asian factory in Bataan.
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The author is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and chairman of the FINEX Media Affairs Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and The Manila Times.