Philippine ethanol sector to take off as funding eases

After getting off to a shaky start earlier this year, the Philippine ethanol industry is witnessing a sea change in sentiment. Funds have started flowing in and annual production is set to rise from 40 million liters this year to around 215 million liters in 2011. “There has been a dramatic change in sentiment,” Tetchi Cruz-Capellan, president of the Ethanol Producers Association of the Philippines, said. The biggest change the industry has seen is that banks, including the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines, have agreed to finance ethanol projects based on a letter of intent between an oil company and an ethanol producer, Capellan said. (September 24, 2009)