Foreign groups eye $100M Philippines investment.

Investors from the United States, Europe and Asia are showing interested in equities in Steel Corp of the Philippines due to its `strong market leadership and profit potentials.' Discussions have reportedly started for the infusion of $100M fresh capital for Steelcorp from the prospective foreign

The forthcoming financial package, will enable Steelcorp, a leader in the local iron and steel industry, to sustain its aggressive marketing offensive and boost its production to meet increasing demands for its products. 60% of the package will be used as permanent working capital, with the remaining 40% earmarked for equity infusion to retire dollar-denominated long-term loans. A Steelcorp spokesman stated that the potential investors are very much long-term growth oriented, and recognise that there are still investment opportunities in the Philippines worth looking into. Steelcorp, producer of Galvalume which dominates the local construction industry, is generally considered an attractive investment opportunity `due to its longterm growth prospects arising from its market leadership.'