First Philec seeking closure of dispute with Sun Power

LOPEZ-LED First Philippine Holdings Corp.’s ( FPHC) power subsidiaries are asking for settlement against its dispute with Sun Power Philippines Manufacturing Ltd., which started when SMPL allegedly breached its contract with First Philippine Electric Corp. (First Philec).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, First Philec and First Philec Solar Corp. (FPSC) said that they have filed a request for arbitration of their dispute with SPML with the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.

FPSC is a joint venture company established by First Philec and SPML to slice silicon wafers for SPML, while First Philec is a wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiary of FPHC.

“First Philec and FPSC have initiated arbitration in order to enforce their rights under the Joint Venture Agreement and the Wafering Supply and Sales Agreement,” the company disclosure added.

Both FPSC and SPML have alleged breaches by the other party of their agreement, while SPML has purported to terminate.

SPML, a branch of SunPower Corp., USA. is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor.

It is the first firm in the Philippines to manufacture ultra-high efficiency silicon solar cells.

SMPL’s technology is also being applied to the manufacture of a wide range of leading-edge silicon opto-electronic devices for telecommunications and industrial applications.