DBP grants P100M credit line for truck body builder CMC

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on Tuesday said it has granted a P100-million revolving credit line to finance the capital requirements of Centro Manufacturing Corp. (CMC), which provides equipment and services to automotive companies across the country.

In an emailed statement, DBP president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Herbosa said the assistance will finance the assembly of truck bodies, automotive parts, and accessories. It will support the production of about 3,000 units or vehicles, of which 21% or 630 units will be public utility vehicles (PUVs).

"As the country's premiere infrastructure bank, DBP prioritizes support to initiatives that further develop our transport systems and supply chains... For us, it is the building of networks all over the country in which economic growth and global competitiveness rests," said Herbosa.

CMC is a truck body builder and provider of truck-related equipment to firms such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Nissan, among others. It currently has manufacturing facilities in Novaliches in Quezon City, Cavite, and Bulacan.

"Ensuring convenient, economical, and efficient public transport systems through strategic financial support remain a priority for financing institutions such as DBP as it is a vital key in attaining expansion and growth," said DBP executive vice president Jose Gabino Dimayuga.

The DBP is mandated to provide banking services principally to service the medium- and long-term needs of agricultural and industrial enterprises, particularly in the countryside and to MSMEs.

Micro enterprises are defined as those with total assets worth less than P50,000; cottage enterprises with assets worth P50,001 to P500,000; small with P500,001 to P5 million; and medium from over P5 million to P20 million.

Latest data available from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ranks DBP as the sixth-largest bank in the Philippines as of the end of the third quarter of 2020, at P944.711 billion. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA News