The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is eager to take on the role of financial adviser to the proposed multibillion-peso infrastructure fund the national government is putting together to help spur and sustain economic growth for the long-term.
DBP president and chief executive officer Francisco F. del Rosario said in turnover ceremonies at the bank’s headquarters on Wednesday the infrastructure fund should attract all the big money players and help make the program successful.
To ensure this happens, Del Rosario said DBP will help “arrange the debt financing required for each (infrastructure development) project.”
“We will assist in developing the pipeline for the projects” coming out from the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Tourism, Del Rosario said.
According to Del Rosario, DBP is well positioned in this role, the bank having had extensive experience in the long haul development of infrastructure-related projects in the past.
Rey David, Del Rosario’s immediate predecessor, lauded his successor for his view of the future of infrastructure development going forward.
“The projects and plans the new DBP president talks about are precisely what the country needs. His plans marry the needs of the ordinary Filipino community’s requirements with the country’s long-term development goals,” David said of his successor.
According to David, infrastructure buildup “is the way to go” towards the future and that a number of local as well as foreign proponents are just waiting for projects under the government public-private partnership or PPP program to begin to roll finally.
Earlier, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said the multibillion-peso infrastructure fund represents the pooled resources of investors who believe and are prepared to stake their time, their money and their reputation in long haul projects in the Philippines.
He welcomed the participation of insurance companies, foreign fund managers and others with a long eye for growth and development so that project proponents may have access to a deep pool of funds that offer far more competitive rates than are available in the market at this point.
Purisima reiterated he wanted an infrastructure fund that offers long-term peso financing with affordable interest rate structures.
Because the fund is primarily private sector-led, the government is allowed to focus on the delivery of services such as health, education and security that it could not otherwise deliver given the limits of its resources, Purisima said.
