Philam Life keen on infra financing

MANILA, Philippines - Life insurance company Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) is keen on participating in  government infrastructure projects by financing some ventures.  

During a roundtable discussion with reporters yesterday, Philam Life chief executive officer Ariel Cantos said the company is actively seeking out opportunities to provide funding for local infrastructure projects.

“We are interested to explore opportunities in those infrastructure projects because it’s part of nation building, and nation building is part of Philam Life’s history,” Cantos said.

According to the company official, Philam Life has approached both government and private banks to express its interest in financing some infrastructure projects.

“We’ve already spoken with the Insurance Commission, we’ve already coordinated with banks,” he said.

However, Cantos said Philam Life is still waiting for the guidelines from the government on how it can engage in infrastructure projects.

“What we’re looking from the government right now is the guidelines. Not just from IC. What are the rules of engagement? I’ve requested our investment (division) people to explore how do we get into these kind of projects,” Cantos said.

The IC has long been encouraging life insurance companies to explore alternative investment vehicles, such as bonds aimed to fund infrastructure and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said the agency was eyeing to put in place a regulation to guide insurance firm on how to invest in infrastructure, PPP and other related financial instruments.

The IC is coordinating with the Bureau of the Treasury and the PPP Center for the promotion of infrastructure or PPP bonds, Funa said.