BOI may cancel registration of Global Steel

MANILA, Philippines - The Board of Investments (BOI) announced yesterday they will automatically cancel the registration of Indian firm Global Steel Philippines Inc. (GSPI) if it is still close by September.

Global Steel halted operations in their Iligan plant last year after it encountered liquidity problems. Global Steel is the sole manufacturer of hot rolled coils (HRC) and cold rolled coils (CRC) in the country. The closure has prompted the government to remove the tariff on imported HRC and CRC in order to keep local steel prices from going up.

In an interview with reporters, BOI managing head Cristino L. Panlilio said they are already drafting the letter informing Global Steel that their BOI registration will be cancelled. This means that they will no longer enjoy duty free importation of capital equipment and other incentives like the income tax holiday (ITH).

However, Panlilio stressed that Global Steel can still operate even without BOI registration. “We will not cancel their business permits. We don’t have the authority to do that.”

The BOI has formed a task force to investigate on Global Steel. In an earlier communication with the BOI, Global Steel said they will resume operations this month. However, Panlillio said Global Steel is currently settling their power bills which has already reached billions.

It is important for the Iligan plant to operate because steel is a major industry and is important especially now that the country is trying to implement infrastructure projects.

 We are worried that our steel industry is being left behind,” Panlilio said in an earlier interview. “We are very concerned.”

“With the construction boom, we are not even able to supply our own requirement of steel billets,” Panlilio, who is also an undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) added.