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THE former Subic Hanjin shipyard, as seen from across Subic Bay in this photo taken last May 15, will be under redevelopment and renewed operation under the Dutch-controlled Agila Project.
Subic Bay Freeport tops foreign investment charts, as investors resuscitate the former Hanjin shipyard
S
SUBIC REDUX By Henry Empeño
UBIC BAY FREEPORT—Finally, a rainbow in the lingering stormy sky.
With a total of P32.98 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI), or more than 71 percent of the P46.23billion national total in the second quarter of this year, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) further boosted economic growth and erased a nagging uncertainty about the future of shipbuilding here, a cornerstone in Subic’s claim to fame as the country’s first and most progressive free port. Subic’s second-quarter foreign investment haul was not only 30,205 percent higher than the aggregate of P108.8-million projects it signed on in the first quarter; it also fortified the country’s latest three-month batch of approved foreign investments, which was more than double the P22.5 billion posted in the second quarter of 2021. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), foreign investment (FI) commitments for the second quarter of 2022 “were mainly driven by investments from the Netherlands, which accounted for
41.2 percent of the total approved FI, followed by Singapore, [which accounted for] 34.4 percent.” The PSA also said that from among the investment pledges, real-estate activities stand to receive P19.30 billion or 41.7 percent, and that the biggest chunk of these was intended to finance projects in Central Luzon amounting to P33.94 billion or 73.4 percent of the total. While the PSA couched its report in general terms and did not specify which contributed most of the investments generated in the second quarter, SBMA records indicated that the bulk of commitments by the Netherlands and Singapore were for the Subic Bay Freeport. Specifically, the pledges were made to revive the moribund shipyard that Korean shipbuilder Hanjin had defaulted on in January 2019, or more than three years and a half ago.
Agila soars
ACCORDING to the SBMA Busi-
MEMBERS of the Pacific Business Mission from Australia and New Zealand met with SBMA Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino Sr. during a briefing at the Subic Bay Travelers Hotel last month under the sponsorship of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center of Australia/New Zealand, and in partnership with the Subic-Clark Alliance Development Council and the Board of Investments.
ness and Investment Group (SBMA-BIG), four Dutch-controlled companies had taken out leases in the second quarter for the redevelopment and operation of the former Hanjin facilities in Subic, now called Agila Subic. These include
PHILIPPINE officials, including then Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Central Bank Governor Benjamin Diokno, and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel G. Romualdez, with the former SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma as guest, celebrate the sealing of the Hanjin Subic takeover deal at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., on April 19 with US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Cerberus cofounder and co-CEO Steve Feinberg.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.0730
the Redondo Peninsula shipyard, a training center at the Subic Techno Park, a jetty at Cubi Point, and the Hanjin residential apartments at Subic’s naval magazine area. The Dutch investments, which are combined under the Agila Subic banner, total P18.45 billion. The biggest of these is that of Agila South Inc., which pledged P10.74 billion for the development, operation and subleasing of the Subic shipyard. The other Agila firms also made huge investment commitments: P6.28 billion by Agila NY Naval Inc., also for development, operation and subleasing activity; P1.11 billion by Agila Subic Compass Inc. for maintenance and management of real property; and P313.13 million by Agila Subic TC Inc. to acquire and manage subleases of housing units, among others. SBMA-BIG sources told the BusinessMirror that the Agila firms will serve as affiliates under Cerberus Capital Management as holding company. Cerberus, a US-based private equity firm, completed the takeover of the debt-laden Hanjin shipyard last April, Philippine officials announced then. It reportedly paid $300 million to settle the debts that Hanjin owed to several banks.
Last April 19, a diplomatic reception was held at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the conclusion of the Subic shipyard deal, the government announced then. Present, among others, were then Foreign
Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Central Bank Governor Benjamin Diokno, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Continued on A2
n JAPAN 0.3978 n UK 65.4570 n HK 7.2720 n CHINA 8.1566 n SINGAPORE 40.5319 n AUSTRALIA 38.2218 n EU 57.0673 n KOREA 0.0408 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1931
Source: BSP (September 16, 2022)