BSP approves $300-M DBP notes for PPP fund

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved the $300 million worth of notes state-owned Development Bank of the Philippine plans to sell this year as its contribution to the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership initiative. DBP together with government-run Land Bank of the Philippines, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and Social Security System (SSS) have pledged to pool P200 billion to bankroll infrastructure and development projects under the PPP initiative. The central bank's Monetary Board has approved in principle DBP’s 10-year notes, according to a senior BSP official who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak on the matter before the central bank issues an official statement. The amount is equivalent to 25 percent of the proposed PPP fund. DBP’s contribution will pay for right-of-way land acquisitions and other pre-development costs of infrastructure projects. DBP has hired HSBC, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Goldman Sachs as bookrunners for its US-dollar notes. The P200-billion pool is on top of the P12.5-billion budget that Congress allotted to PPP projects this year, DBP president and chief executive officer Francisco del Rosario said in November when the Aquino administration launched the initiative. — VS, GMA News