Chinese steelmaker invests $1B for plant in Sarangani

Sarangani. INQUIRER FILES

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — A Chinese company is investing $1 billion (P55.98 billion) to build a steel manufacturing plant in Maasim town, Sarangani province.

It is the single biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) so far under the Marcos administration, according to Secretary Frederick Go, the special assistant to the president for investment and economic affairs.

The investment comes even as relations between Manila and Beijing continue to be tested by the West Philippine Sea dispute, a longtime cause of regional tensions.

READ: China emerges as PH’s most important source of investments

Go said the venture of Panhua Integrated Steel Inc. (Pisi) was among those approved by various investment promotion agencies of the government, such as the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), in Mindanao.

“Through good governance and the improved peace and order condition, the economy of Mindanao has been growing stronger and stronger,” said Go, who spoke at the 33rd Mindanao Business Conference that opened here on Thursday.

The conference gathered hundreds of businessmen from Mindanao and investors from different parts of the country and abroad. It was organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and hosted by the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (GSCCCII)

Go said that from 2022 to 2024, approved FDIs across Mindanao were valued at P198.6 billion, mostly in mining, power, gas, steam and manufacturing, particularly steel.

High demand

According to its Facebook page, Pisi will be the first 2 million metric ton per annum (mtpa) integrated steel mill in the Philippines. The plant will be at the Peza-approved Kamanga Agro-Industrial Economic Zone at Barangay Kamanga, Maasim.

Pisi is a private company under Panhua Group Co. Ltd., which is headquartered in China’s Jiangsu province. Founded in 2001, the Panhua Group is one of the Top 500 enterprises in China, its briefer said.

“Pisi aims to provide permanent resolution to the high demand of steel in the Philippines. Pisi will be selling 30 percent of its products locally, addressing the country’s consumption and helping the Philippines become self-sufficient in its steel requirements,” it said.

GSCCCII president Miguel Rene Dominguez, also the former provincial governor of Sarangani, told reporters that the Panhua Group had started developing the steel plant in a 40-hectare property in the ecozone.

“It could become an important source of steel products that will support the growth of industries and construction not just in Mindanao but the whole country,” he said.

The plant is expected to start production in December 2025, and generate some 2,000 jobs, including 500 for engineers, he added.

Panhua first planned to put up a 10 mtpa integrated steel mill, worth $3.5 billion, at the Phividec industrial estate in Northern Mindanao region five years ago but eventually chose to locate in Sarangani, at a lesser production capacity.