US-based equity firm eyes more investments in PH

US-based Cerberus Global Investment LLC has pledged increased investments and expansion in the Philippines, Malacanang said Friday.

Emerging from a meeting with the firm's top executives, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said additional investment in shipbuilding would allow the country to regain its footing in the global shipbuilding industry.

“We’re all very excited about this project and… we have always tried to find a way to regain our position in the shipbuilding. We were already number 2 for awhile and then when Hanjin closed,” Marcos said.

Former US vice president and Cerberus chairman James Danforth Quayle told the President during the courtesy call that the company looks forward to being a part of the Philippine economic growth story and has been planning more and bigger investments to the Philippines.

Cerberus, a global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies, acquired the Subic shipyard in 2022 and has invested US$40 million to make the shipyard operational again.

Currently, the Philippine Navy has a naval operating base in Subic with 800 personnel.

Hyundai, one of the most prestigious shipbuilding companies, has expressed interest in using two drydocks in Subic for shipbuilding.  The company plans to move to the facility by he end of the year.

Officials have said this could generate 5,000 to 15,000 jobs. 

Cerberus also plans to propose to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to convert the airport into a cargo and logistics hub.

The company is also looking to invest in the country’s semiconductors, and energy sectors.

Malacanang also announced that Cerberus subsidiary Subcomm, which is engaged in building and installing submarine cables, will move to the facility in August.

"The entry of Hyundai and Subcomm in Subic is seen create much needed economic activity in Subic that could also benefit downstream industries in the area," it added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News