Interflour taps P998M BDO loan for Subic mill

THE LOCAL unit of Interflour Group Pte Ltd. of Singapore, one of the largest flour millers in Asia, has tapped a P998 million loan facility with Banco de Oro Unibank to partly fund the construction of a flour mill in Subic.

BDO has agreed to provide a seven-year loan to the local unit, Mabuhay Interflour Mill Inc. (MIMI), to fund the flour mill in a 5.2-hectare property in Subic Bay Gateway Park Phase II. The mill will produce 500 metric tons of flour per day but the capacity may be doubled to 1,000 metric tons by 2019.

The project, which is expected to be completed early 2017, will mill wheat into food flour for direct sale to consumers, distributors and retailers in the country, as well as for the export market.

“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 senior vice president and head of international desks Edward Wenceslao said.

With an estimated 25,000 bakeshops operating in the country, Interflour considers the Philippines as an important market in the region.

“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,” said Interflour chief executive Greg Harvey.

At present, Interflour has nine flour mills in operation — eight in South East Asia and one in Turkey — with a total wheat milling capacity of 6,500 tons per day.

Its entry in the Philippines was established in June 2014 through the signing of a 50-year lease agreement with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.