BDO enters 7-year, P998-M loan deal with Mabuhay Interflour

BDO Unibank Inc. has entered into a seven-year, P998 million loan deal with Mabuhay Interflour Mill Inc. (MIMI) to finance a milling facility in Subic Bay Gateway Park.

The country's biggest bank in asset terms BDO is financing the construction of a flour mill in a 5.2-hectare property in Subic. The project is expected to be completed next year.

The mill is designed to produce 500 metric tons (MT) per day, which may be doubled to 1,000 MT by 2019.

MIMI is the Philippine subsidiary of Singapore-based Interflour Group Pte. Ltd., one of the biggest flour millers in Asia.

"The investment of Interflour in the Philippines is a welcome development. BDO supports initiatives by conglomerates that generate employment opportunities in fast-growing business districts like Subic," BDO SVP and head of international desks Edward Wenceslao told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

With an estimated 25,000 bakeshops in the country, the Philippines is an "important market" for Interflour, the lender noted.

"We welcome the support of BDO and thank them for the cooperation in working with us to develop local employment and more affordable flour for the Philippine community in general," Interflour Chief Executive Greg Harvey said.

Interflour has nine operating flour mills – eight in South East Asia, one in Turkey – with a milling capacity of 6,500 tons per day.

"Its entry into the Philippines was established in June 2014 through the signing of a 50-year lease agreement with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority," the bank said. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News