The Philippines has placed Apple, Nvidia and TSMC on a target list of investors as it seeks to transform New Clark City, the government-built metropolis north of Manila, into a semiconductor and technology hub modeled on Silicon Valley, Gulf News reports.

The pitch comes as governments across Asia race to capture a share of the supply-chain shift driven by US–China trade tensions, AI-driven chip demand and the global push to diversify manufacturing beyond Taiwan and South Korea. The Philippines already hosts back-end assembly, test and packaging operations for several global chipmakers, but it has never landed a leading-edge fab or a major front-end manufacturing commitment.

New Clark City, a planned city in Capas, Tarlac, roughly 100 kilometers north of Manila, was developed by the Philippine government as a disaster-resilient administrative and business center. Officials now want to position it as a destination for high-value electronics and semiconductor investment, pitching available land, infrastructure and a young workforce to some of the industry's biggest names.

The inclusion of Apple and Nvidia on the wish list signals an ambition beyond pure chip manufacturing. Both companies design silicon fabricated by partners such as TSMC and do not operate their own fabs, which suggests Manila is also targeting design centers, data center investments, supply-chain operations or assembly and packaging facilities tied to those ecosystems rather than — or in addition to — wafer fabrication itself.

TSMC's presence on the list reflects the tougher competitive reality. The world's largest contract chipmaker is committing tens of billions of dollars to new capacity in Arizona, Japan and Germany, and has signaled that further expansion decisions depend on customer demand, incentives and geopolitical considerations. Any Philippine bid for a TSMC facility would compete directly with those established programs and with rival offers from countries including India, Vietnam and Indonesia, all of which have courted the Taiwanese foundry in recent years.

For now, the target list remains a wish list. The report names no confirmed investments, committed capital figures or timelines from any of the three companies, and neither Apple, Nvidia nor TSMC has announced Philippine manufacturing plans. What the Philippines can offer is an existing electronics manufacturing base, English-language engineering talent and government incentives — assets that have historically attracted assembly and test operations rather than leading-edge fabrication.

The outcome will test whether a Southeast Asian nation without a domestic front-end fab industry can convert geopolitical supply-chain diversification into anchor investments from the industry's top spenders. Until at least one of the three named companies commits capital, New Clark City's 'Silicon Valley' ambitions will remain a roadmap, and Manila's challenge will be converting a wish list into signed deals.