Macquarie Group allots $600M for Phl projects

MANILA, Philippines - The Macquarie Group of Companies has earmarked at least $600 million worth of funds to bankroll major infrastructure projects in the Philippines under the public private partnership (PPP) program of President Aquino.

Michael de Guzman, managing director of the Manila Office of Macquarie Group, said the global provider of banking, financial advisory, investments, and fund management services has chosen the Philippines for the proposed investments.

De Guzman told reporters on the sidelines of the “2012 Philippine Energy & Infrastructure Business Meeting” that the fund allocated in the Philippines is at par with that of India with $1.2 billion and China with $1 billion.

He pointed out that Macquarie Group has chosen the Philippines as the first country in the region where a fund was allocated in light of its sound macroeconomic fundamentals as well as growth potential.

“The Philippines is very important to the Macquarie Group. There is a good combination of strong economic growth and sound prospects for the economy,” he stressed.

According to him, the Macquarie Group has been present in the country since 2004 when it bought the Asian securities operations of ING Barings including that of the Philippines.

De Guzman pointed out that the Macquarie Group is looking at major infrastructure projects such as airports, railways, and major roads under the Aquino administration’s PPP scheme.

He said the group that manages about $100 billion worth of funds worldwide is looking at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 extension to Cavite from Baclaran as well as the proposed P10.2-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway project.

The official added that the Macquarie Group is also considering all types of power projects such as coal-fired, gas-fired, renewable energy, and others.

Earlier, the group tied up with the state-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to set up a $625-million fund to invest in infrastructure projects in the Philippines.

Another investor in the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure (PINAI) include Dutch pension fund asset manager Algemene Pensioen Groep (APG).

The state-run provident fund GSIS contributed the bulk at $400 million while the ADB accounted for $25 million. PINAI will invest equity and equity-linked instruments directly in infrastructure projects across sectors such as transport, renewable energy and telecommunications.

For her part, BDO Unibank chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson said local banks have enough liquidity to raise at least $1 billion to fund major infrastructure projects under the PPP scheme.

She pointed out that banks are hoping that the PPP projects would take off sooner than later to take advantage of the liquidity in the domestic financial market.

“The delay means delayed business. We are hoping that these projects would be bidded out soon,” Sy-Coson said.