Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi plans to invest in PPP projects

MANILA, Philippines - The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. wants to spend a portion of the $5-billion investment fund to various Philippine projects including the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) program.

In an interview with reporters, Board of Investments (BOI) managing head Cristino L. Panlilio said there is a “keen interest” in the Philippines and the plan of the Japanese bank is to spend a portion of the $5 billion to various local projects including the PPP.

Panlilio said this was manifested during the recent Japanese trip of President Aquino. However, he said it is unclear how much exactly the investment will be, what particular project and when the investment will come in.

Meanwhile, the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) has announced that they signed a Reservation Agreement and Term Sheet between a leading Japanese gas company and CDC also during the Japan trip.

In a statement, CDC president Felipe Antonio B. Remollo said Aquino witnessed the signing of an agreement between Ingasco and CDC which will pave the way for the establishment of a $50-million Air Separation Unit Facility.

Remollo said the project would involve the installation of mechanical and electrical equipment used for air separation such as cryogenic distillation column, column, multi stage air compressors, pumps, electrical substation, cooling towers, and cryogenic storage tanks, among others.

Once fully operational, Remollo said Ingasco will supply nitrogen, argon, and oxygen to big ticket Clark firms like Texas Instruments (TI) and Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Corp. (PSPC), among other electronic and semiconductor companies.

Remollo said the gas to be supplied by Ingasco will be used by TI and PSPC in the manufacture of electronic chips and other related semiconductor products.

The facility will have an output capacity of 10,100 Nm3 per hour for the production of liquid oxygen (LOX), liquid nitrogen (LIN), and liquid argon (LAR), including major process areas in filtration, air compression, pre-purification, liquefaction and separation/distillation, storage and product loading.

Ingasco is 70-percent owned by its mother company Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. (TNSC), a major supplier of industrial gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon to a wide range of industries, including the steel, chemical, electronics, automobile, construction, shipbuilding, and food industries.