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US-based private equity firm Cerberus Global Investment eyes more investments in the Philippines
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It seeks to convert Subic Bay International Airport into a cargo and logistics hub
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South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries expressed interest in using two drydocks for its shipbuilding operations
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Cerberus subsidiary SubCom LLC, engaged in building and installing submarine cables, will also move to the facility in August
US-based private equity firm Cerberus Global Investment is eyeing more investments in the Philippines even as it proposes conversion of Subic Bay International Airport into a cargo and logistics hub.
Former US vice president and Cerberus chairman James Danforth Quayle, in a courtesy call to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on May 12, said their company is excited to be a part of the Philippine economic growth story and has been planning more and bigger investments to the Philippines.
Malacañang in a statement said Cerberus invested US$40 million to make the shipyard operational again. Currently, the Philippine Navy has a naval operating base in Subic with 800 personnel while Vectrus, a global service solutions provider to the US government and across the world, will be occupying most of the shipbuilding area of the facility.
READ: Vectrus, Philippine Navy first tenants at ex-Hanjin yard
“We’re all very excited about this project and… we have always tried to find a way to regain our position in the shipbuilding. We were already number 2 for awhile and then when Hanjin closed,” Marcos said during the meeting with Cerberus executives.
Malacañang said Cerberus wants to ensure diverse economic activity by having multiple companies engaged in various businesses.
Cerberus and Agila NY Naval Inc./Agila South Inc. in 2022 acquired the 300-hectare shipbuilding facility in Subic, Zambales once occupied by South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines, Inc., Subic’s biggest locator before it went bankrupt in 2019.
South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. expressed interest in using two drydocks for its shipbuilding operations. Hyundai eyes to transfer to the facility by year end, with the move potentially generating 5,000-15,000 jobs.
Aside from those ventures, Cerberus is looking to invest in the country’s semiconductors, and energy sectors.
Cerberus subsidiary SubCom LLC, engaged in building and installing submarine cables, will also move to the facility in August.
The entry of Hyundai and SubCom in Subic is seen to create much needed economic activity in Subic that could also benefit downstream industries in the area.
The Fiscal Incentives Review Board, upon the endorsement of SBMA, earlier approved the grant of tax incentives for the redevelopment and operations of the former Hanjin shipyard with a total project cost of P17 billion, funded by Cerberus.
