BIZ BUZZ: SMC’s P20-B ‘super bridge’

The sea mishaps that occur every now and then on that narrow body of water between Batangas province and Mindoro province—often resulting in casualties among vacationers out to enjoy the beaches of Puerto Galera—may soon be a thing of the past if the plans of San Miguel Corp. and the provincial government bear fruit.

The conglomerate said on Wednesday it was pushing ahead with negotiations with the Mindoro local government, led by Gov. Humerlito Dolor, to build a 15-kilometer bridge that will connect Mindoro with the Luzon mainland through Batangas province.

No project value was disclosed but Biz Buzz asked around and learned that the conglomerate is gearing up to spend at least P20 billion, or possibly slightly over this, given that the project cost was estimated at P18 billion when the idea was first proposed by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Alfonso Umali in 2015.

The so-called super bridge is included in the 10 public-private partnership programs of the Marcos administration, and is currently being pushed by Dolor in a bid to spur growth and development in Oriental Mindoro and the entire Mimaropa region as it recovers from the pandemic.

“We have started bringing together global experts across disciplines, including a European architectural and engineering firm, to do a technical feasibility study on how the bridge can be built sustainably to benefit both people and the environment,” San Miguel president and CEO Ramon Ang said.

He added that since his last meeting with Dolor late last year, San Miguel has engaged the services of a local company to initially do a bathymetric survey to measure water depth. The bridge will start from Barangay Ilijan in Batangas, pass through Verde Island and land in Barangay Sinandigan in Puerto Galera.

The bridge will result in faster and more efficient transport of people and goods and spur local economic growth through job generation, higher investments and optimization of basic services such as water, power and telecommunications, among others. More importantly, we will hopefully see fewer sea tragedies in this narrow strait.

—Daxim L. Lucas

BSP vs the banks

After a few years of relative peace, it looks like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the banks are once more at loggerheads over a key policy issue.

We’re talking about the adoption of a new interest rate benchmark for the Philippine financial system with the looming abolition of the scandal-ridden London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor).

Libor is set to be phased out soon in the wake of the interest rate fixing scandal in advanced economies a few years ago, which cast into doubt the integrity of what was once the benchmark used for pricing loans globally.

Locally, members of the Bankers Association of the Philippines have come up with their own pricing benchmark, which takes into account all other available interest rates in the market to produce a product that is virtually immune to price fixing (which was what brought down Libor).

But the BSP has been sitting on this proposal for the last few years, and now word reaching the banks is that the regulator has a proposal of its own.

The BSP is set to present its idea to the bankers today who are, Biz Buzz hears, rather upset that their well-crafted solution may end up in the waste basket.

And who’s behind this counter proposal by the BSP? One particular official who’s had a rocky relationship with banks for many years now, we hear.

—Daxim L. Lucas