Govt ready to assist Hanjin white knight
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2019 16:25:58 +0000
The government does not have a definite plan to take over bankrupt Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Philippines (HHIC-Phil) but is ready to assist any potential investor, a Cabinet official said on Wednesday.
“There’s no concrete plan. But we will not allow it to just fold without any contingency plan,” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters.
“One option is somebody from the private sector [who] may be tied-up with some foreign countries like, maybe, France or Israel. They can join forces and then we will help them through government banks,” he added.
Diokno said that saving Hanjin would avert the potential negative impact on jobs and the economy.
For his part, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd confirmed that the government was willing to help Hanjin but said a formal proposal should be forwarded.
“As I said we are ready to help, but they have to tell us what they need. We’ll wait until they come up with a solution that satisfies them,” he said.
A Hanjin default would be the biggest in Philippine corporate history. The Subic-based shipbuilder reportedly owes Land Bank of the Philippines, BDO Unibank Inc., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) around $412 million in addition to another $900 million to South Korean creditors.
Credit rating agencies have warned that the affected banks’ credit scores could be revised.
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