A woman looks through a magnifying glass to check errors of a printer circuit board at Manutronics Factory in Bac Ninh province, Vietnam May 30, 2018. Reuters

MANILA – The Philippines should focus on “rapidly growing” its manufacturing sector to attract foreign investors just like Vietnam, an adviser to the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said Monday.

Data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the country's foreign direct investments reached a record of $10 billion in 2017, lower compared to Vietnam's $14 billion.

Lower minimum wage and subsidized electricity for manufacturing drew foreign investors to Vietnam, AmCham senior adviser John Forbes told ANC.

Nike, for example, employs 390,000 Vietnamese while Samsung manufactures almost half of its phones in Vietnam, Forbes said.

"Vietnam has been doing things the Philippines has not been able to do but the Philippines has its own specialties in manufacturing and they should be focused on those and growing them rapidly as possible," Forbes said.

Foreign direct investments reach record $10 billion in 2017: BSP

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