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Cerberus acquisition of Hanjin shipyard to create 300 jobs per year
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The Philippine Navy will also set up a base in the area
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The shipbuilding and ship repair facility will not only serve military and coast guard requirements but also that of the private sector
The acquisition by US private equity firm Cerberus Frontier of the former Hanjin shipyard at Subic Bay Freeport will generate employment and serve requirements of both the military and the private sector, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
Many of the displaced workers in the shipyard will be retained, while additional jobs averaging about 300 per year from locators and subcontractors will be created, catalyzing growth in Central Luzon and the rest of the country, Dominguez said in a statement.
Cerberus earlier acquired the facility for US$300 million. It will lease parts of the property to locators.
READ: Cerberus acquires Subic shipyard for $300 million
With the conclusion of the agreement for the buyout of the shipbuilding facilities, Dominguez said the deal will allow five of the Philippines’ largest banks to book a profit from their written-off loans with Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines (HHIC-Phil), while the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, where the shipyard is located, will get a better tenant in Cerberus.
The Philippine Navy will also get a naval base “with an ideal harbor for its rapidly expanding fleet facing the West Philippine Sea,” Dominguez said.
“With this development beneficial to all stakeholders, we look forward to a robust shipbuilding and ship repair facility to serve not only our military and coast guard requirements but also the requirements of the private sector,” the finance chief said at the reception hosted by Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez in Washington to mark the conclusion of agreements involving the Cerberus takeover of the shipyard.
“I congratulate Cerberus, the Department of Defense of the Philippines, the Philippine Navy, the banks, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority for striking a deal that will benefit each of the partners and, more importantly, will benefit the Filipino people,” Dominguez added.
Also at the reception were several key officials of the Philippine government led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; representatives from the US Departments of State, of Defense and of Transportation, and the US National Security Council (NSC); and Cerberus officials led by Steve Feinberg, the co-founder and co-CEO of the firm.
“There are like two months left for the Duterte administration. There is no better finale to all the work done to strengthen the ties with the US than to see the ink on the paper of the biggest public-private partnership in the 75-year history of Philippine-US relations,” Locsin said during the reception.
Romualdez said he is “confident that with this collaboration with the United States, we will have a much stronger alliance founded on deeper friendship and mutual respect.”
READ: Wanted: Investors for debt-saddled Hanjin shipbuilder
The discussions on the acquisition of the former Hanjin shipyard by Cerberus Frontier began three years ago, according to the Ambassador.
