SteelAsia secures P8.3 billion loan for Batangas steel mill

MANILA, Philippines — SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. has obtained a loan amounting to P8.3 billion from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Philippine Business Bank (PBB) to support the completion of its P18-billion steel section mill in Lemery, Batangas.

In a statement, SteelAsia said the lenders were represented by GSIS president and general manager Jose Arnulfo Veloso, DBP president Michael de Jesus and PBB president and CEO Rolando Avante during the recent loan agreement signing held at the head office of GSIS in Pasay.

“Steel is an investment priority of the Marcos administration. Because of this loan from GSIS and DBP and the ever-supportive PBB, we are finally on our way to having a Philippine steel industry,” SteelAsia chairman and CEO Benjamin Yao said.

SteelAsia’s plant in Batangas will be the country’s first for steel sections mill.

“It will be fully commissioned in 2025 and will substitute the importation of steel sections products like H beams, I beams and angle bars that are used for infrastructure like bridges, railways, high-rises, industrial buildings, telco towers and transmission towers,” Yao said.

The Philippines depends on imports for over 80 percent of its steel requirements.

Yao believes a robust local steel industry will bring down construction costs and support manufacturing as well as job creation.

“Our investment strategy is fundamentally about nation-building. We invest in infrastructure projects that not only drive economic growth and ensure stability but also provide long-term sustainable returns. The SteelAsia plant is a prime example of such an investment,” Veloso said.