₧65-B investments needed for 70% steel self-sufficiency By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
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ROUND P65 billion worth of investments are needed for the Philippine steel industry to build more plants to attain 70 percent selfsufficiency in as soon as four years, according to SteelAsia, the flagship steel company of the Philippines. “Excluding Lemery, it’s still around P65 billion. The total project cost is P65 billion,” Rafael Hidalgo, Senior Vice President for Business Development of SteelAsia told reporters at a recent briefing in Cebu when asked how much the steel firm still needs to raise for its
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expansion plans. According to SteelAsia’s presentation which Hidalgo explained, the Philippine steel industry can be 70 percent self-sufficient with SteelAsia’s expansions and potential foreign investments in as early as four years. The four-year development plan of the steel firm indicated that investments would be needed for upstream steelmaking particularly scrap-based products; and for midstream rolling, investments should be poured into rebars/angles, sections, and wire rods. As for the downstream fabrication and cold processes—which include spring, cables, tools, tire cord, machin-
ery, defense equipment, automotive, pipes, roofing, appliances, among others—the country mmust be able to produce downstream products of sections and wire rod, plate and hot rolled coil, in order to be 70 percent self-sufficient. In building the country’s steel selfreliance, SteelAsia unveiled its expansion plans which should be attained by 2027. For its Lemery plant, the firm intends to add 500,000 (metric tons) MT rolling capacity in its production and 500,000 MT steel making capacity by 2026. For the Candelaria plant, SteelAsia hopes to expand the heavy section by producing 750,000 MT in rolling capacity and 750,000 MT in steel-making
capacity by 2026. For its Concepcion plant, the firm will produce rebars of 1,200,000 MT in rolling capacity and 500,000 MT of wire rod production in steel-making capacity by 2027. As for its Davao Meltshop, the firm aims to add 500,000 MT in steel-making capacity for billets. “All we need to do is build a significant part of the steel industry in the next three to four years. So our plants are in Lemery, Candelaria, Concepcion and in Davao, to build new products, import substitute products,” Hidalgo said. See “Investments,” A2
BusinessMirror Monday, May 27, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 223
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1ST 4 MOS’ BORROWINGS BY N.G. UP 8% TO P1.163T n
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
HE national government borrowed over a trillion pesos in the first four months of the year, higher than the level recorded a year ago. Foreign borrowings
MEANWHILE, under foreign borrowings, data from the Treasury showed that the government’s external borrowings in the first four months of the year plunged by 62.27 percent to P124.099 billion from P328.883 billion recorded in the same period in 2023. The state borrowed a total of P28.664 billion from project loans and P95.435 billion from program loans as of end-April this year. For the month of April alone, the government borrowed P89.202 billion from both foreign and domestic sources. This is lower by 31.33 percent, or P40.704 billion, than the P129.906 billion recorded in the same month a year ago. External gross borrowings in See “Borrowings,” A2
ITLOS CITES ARBITRAL RULING IN OPINION ON CLIMATE CHANGE By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig
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HE International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), a world court that resolves cases related to maritime disputes, has released a judicial opinion supporting scientific evidence that humancaused carbon emissions not only pollute the air but also the seas, and that states are under obligation to take all measures to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution from these greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 153-page advisory opinion likewise cited at least six times the 2016 ruling of the arbitral tribunal on the South China Sea which declared that China has no right to claim any islands or rock features based on the nine-dash U-shape line drawn in their historical maps. China never recognized the arbitral award, saying the ad hoc tribunal formed by The Hague-based Permanent Court
of Arbitration has no jurisdiction over their maritime claims in the South China Sea. The Department of Foreign Affairs said the latest ITLOS advisory opinion ”bolsters and reinforces the legitimacy of the final and binding 2016 Arbitration Award, and its unassailable status as part of the corpus of international law.” “The ITLOS cited the South China Sea Arbitration Award of 12 July 2016 as authoritative in key parts of the Advisory Opinion. Further, 26 States or groups of States also referenced the Award as legal authority in their respective oral and written statements during the ITLOS proceedings,” the DFA said in a statement.
Why the need for ITLOS ADVISORY opinion
SMALL islands from the Pacific and the Caribbean have formed an alliance called the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change (COCIS) to seek See “ITLOS,” A2
IN the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm Aghon, the first tropical cyclone to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility this year, a resident of Sitio Haliging Bato in Barangay Biga, Lobo, Batangas, salvages a bamboo pole—likely from a damaged boat—on the debris-strewn beach. Story on storm Aghon in A3 Nation. ROY DOMINGO
Maharlika, pension funds’ tie-up in utilities still possible
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CO-INVESTMENT between the Maharlika Investment Cor poration (MIC) and state-run pension funds in largescale utility projects is still on the table, according to its top official. MIC President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Consing Jr. told the BusinessMirror on Sunday that the MIC can collaborate with the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in large-scale utility projects generating consistent cash flows, given the state-run pension funds’ focus on long-term returns. Consing identified possible investments in tollways, airports, and power distribution as these would offer predictable returns and longer investment durations. “A strategic alliance between SSS, GSIS, and the [National Development Company] NDC, structured as a general or limited partnership, has the potential to drive trans-
formative economic and developmental progress across the nation,” Consing pointed out. “Maharlika’s focus on earlierstage ventures may be less aligned with the typical pension fund investment model, which prefers established companies,” Consing added. The collaboration should prioritize asset classification, whether concession-based, private merchant risk or start-up, over the stage of investment, according to him. “This approach would provide greater flexibility and inclusivity for diverse investment objectives,” Consing explained. Earlier, SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando L. Macasaet said that SSS would only coinvest with the MIC in “brownfield investments,” or already existing facilities. See “Maharlika,” A2
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PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.2150 n JAPAN 0.3709 n UK 73.9331 n HK 7.4554 n CHINA 8.0383 n SINGAPORE 43.0775 n AUSTRALIA 38.4510 n EU 62.9712 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5227 Source: BSP (May 24, 2024)
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Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed the government’s gross borrowings from January to April 2024 reached P1.163 trillion, up by 7.98 percent, or P86 billion, from P1.077 trillion in the same period in 2023. Of the total gross borrowings for the four months, the bulk, or 89.25 percent, went to domestic borrowings, reaching P1.038 trillion and higher by 38.56 percent than the P749.113 billion recorded in the same period a year ago. The lion’s share of the government’s gross domestic borrowings during the four-month period came from the Retail Treasury Bonds at P584.861 billion, followed by the Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds at P377.258 billion, and Treasury Bills at P76.822 billion.