Press Release
02 March 2012
The Public-Private Partnership Center (PPP Center) launched on Wednesday its thrust for systematized linkages with banks during the first Lenders Forum at the Banco de Oro main office in Makati City.
The event drew in over 90 representatives from local and foreign banks and financial institutions such as the Allied Banking Corporation, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, BPI Capital Corporation, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, BDO Unibank, Inc., China Banking Corporation, Development Bank of the Philippines, HSBC, ING Commercial Banking, Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd., Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Korea Eximbank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Security Bank Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company, among others.
PPP Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao informed the banking community that pro-active and methodical collaboration with the sector is vital to the country’s PPP program to achieve its goal to fast- track inclusive growth through the development of much-needed projects in infrastructure and service delivery. “The completion of properly prepared projects necessitates the earnest participation of the banking community. The PPP Center is here to work with you in the spirit of systematized partnership,” Executive Director Canilao said.
Finance Undersecretary John Phillip P. Sevilla presented a comprehensive overview of government’s strengths and its initiatives on risk sharing and management, viability gap financing, draft contract disclosures, and other processes aimed at transparency.
Mr. Eduardo V. Francisco, President of the BDO Capital and Investment Corporation, said that BDO welcomed the holding of the first Lenders Forum and looks forward to more exchanges with government to make PPPs viable.
He expounded on BDO’s role in enriching PPP experience through the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) project, wherein the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) also provided pivotal participation. Ms. Susan Z. Prado, DBP Executive Vice President also shared in more detail DBP’s role in TPLEX.
In other previous PPP fora and orientation briefings, Mr. Francisco had also expressed BDO’s eagerness to be part of appropriate PPP projects.
Other members of the panel included PPP Center Directors Eleazar E. Ricote and Ronaldo F. Corpus who discussed the “Overview of the Philippine PPP Program & Its Processes” and the “Timeline and Process for the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road project”, respectively; and Mr. Hideo Naito, Head of the Power & Finance Department, Infrastructure Finance Group of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, who spoke on their international lending experience on PPP.
Mr. Francisco also shared the high interest level manifested by the international finance community in the Philippine presentation of its PPP program during recent “PPP Days” held in Geneva, Switzerland. He described the presentation as “jam-packed” and added that “many people were interested to know about what we’re doing here on PPPs”. Socio-Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General Cayetano W. Paderanga, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, Health Undersecretary Teodoro J. Herbosa, and Executive Director Canilao attended the Geneva event.
Shown in photo from left: PPP Center Director Eleazar Ricote; BDO Capital and Investment Corp. Assistant Vice President Barbara May Billano; BDO-CIC Senior Vice President Eleanor Lee Hilado; BDO-CIC President Eduardo Francisco; PPP Center Director Ronaldo Corpus; Mr. Hideo Naito, Power and Water Finance Department Head of Japan Bank for International Cooperation; Development Bank of the Philippines Executive Vice President Susan Prado; PPP Center Executive Director Cosette Canilao; Finance Undersecretary John Phillip Sevilla; Executive Director Claro Fernandez of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Investor Relations Office; Mr. Robert Ogden, Societe General Vice President for Infrastructure Finance; Mr. Luc Le Cabellec, Country Director of AFD-French Development Agency; and Mr. Tae-ik Park, Korea Eximbank Chief Representative and Country Director.
