State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) granted a P2-billion omnibus loan facility to a leading local agricultural firm in line with the bank’s commitment to promote countryside growth through its support to the agri-fisheries sector, a top official said.
DBP president and chief executive officer Cecilia C. Borromeo said the loan will be used to finance the various working capital requirements of companies under the Alcantara Group such as Alsons Aquaculture Corporation (AAC), Sarangani Agricultural Co., Inc., Sarangani Cattle Co., Inc., Finfish Hatcheries, Inc., and Alsons Development and Investment Corporation.
“We expect the project to boost the Alcantara Group’s total export proceeds, provide 1,000 additional jobs to locals, and sustain other industries and entrepreneurial activities through raw materials sourcing and local trading,” Borromeo said.
DBP chairman Alberto G. Romulo said DBP has a long-standing business relationship with the Alcantara Group that started in 2006 when the bank financed the pond and cold storage expansion of AAC.
“We in the DBP feel proud that in our own little way, we have contributed to Alsons’ growth as the largest processor and exporter of premium quality bangus and other processed seafood products in the country,” Romulo said.
The Alcantara Group is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the country with over P39.4-billion in assets and sales totaling P8.2-billion as of end-2017. From its humble beginnings in the late 1950s, the company has expanded its presence in real estate, manufacturing, power generation, insurance, and utilities.
Alcantara Group of Companies president Tomas Alcantara lauded the deal and said the P2-billion loan will go a long way in the development of the company’s projects in Sarangani province and other initiatives in Mindanao.
