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MANILA, Philippines - Maritime authorities are in talks with state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for a P5-billion credit facility to fund the modernization of small shipping operators.
"If we are looking at modernizing the bancas, we are talking about P5 billion fund. We are talking with DBP Leasing Corp. and DBP for the availability of financing," Emerson Lorenzo, administrator of state-run Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said.
Lorenzo said the P5 billion fund can benefit 1,500 bancas.
He said the future of the Philippine shipping industry lay in the cargo business as budget airlines offer cheaper and comfortable travel.
"The investment opportunity for shipping is on cargo. Nagiging uncompetitive na ang passage rates ng shipping lines as compared to the airlines," Lorenzo said.
Data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) showed that the total number of passengers traveling by sea went down by 6.61 percent to 49.22 million last year from 52.70 million in 2010.
In contrast, the total cargo throughput increased by 6.57 percent to 177.33 million metric tons last year from 166.40 million in 2010. PPA said domestic and foreign cargo both went up by 7.25 percent and 6.08 percent, respectively.
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