US-based fund manager I Squared Capital invests $130M in Bulacan cold storage

Plaridel, Bulacan – A modern cold storage facility in a suburban town in Bulacan gets a fresh $130-million (P7.6 billion) capital infusion from Florida-based investment manager I Squared Capital.

The multibillion-peso investment gives I Squared Capital a controlling share, or over 80%, in homegrown Royal Cold Storage of the Pangilinan family who began a fishing business in Navotas, officials said on Friday, Oct. 24.

It’s a vote of confidence on the Philippine economy which, despite a widely expected slowdown amid tougher US tariffs, outperforms most of its Asian peers so far this year.

“An economy like this has the highest growth rate today… So the Philippines has enormous potential and has enormous opportunities for investments,” Sadek Wahba, founder and chairman of I Squared Capital, told a press briefing.

The fresh dollar inflows could potentially lift the lackluster peso, which took a heavy beating as foreigners dumped Philippine stocks amid jitters that graft could have gone beyond public works.

I Squared Capital’s adding Royale Cold Storage into its global portfolio of infrastructure investments flips the capital flight narrative and comes as encouraging news.

“The economic reforms that have been undertaken, when I compare them to other countries in a similar position, exactly what the Philippine economy should be doing. What I find exciting is that the government understands exactly what needs to be done,” Wahba said.

The Florida-based investment manager - with over $50 billion assets globally in its portfolio - said it has so far poured in $1 billion into the country across energy, digital, logistics, and food systems. Another $1 billion will be forthcoming in the next few years, the company said.

Of that combined $2 billion infusion, Royal Cold Storage will account for up to a fifth of I Squared Capital’s portfolio in the Philippines.

“The market capitalization is going to grow, certainly by another 130 million dollars plus whatever dividends we generate, we’re looking to reinvest in the company so it will be over several million dollars,” Wahba said.

“We’ve invested in the Philippines today close to a billion dollars and we’re looking to increase that substantially. We expect Royal Cold Storage to represent somewhere between 15% and 20% of our total investments in the Philippines,” he added.

The facility expands the group’s Plaridel complex, where an existing cold storage operates within a five-hectare site. The new one will rise on a 1.5-hectare portion of the complex and will employ artificial intelligence for monitoring such as temperature and refrigeration controls.

Solar power accounts for 20 percent of the complex’s energy needs, the local company’s top official said.

“We are now a total of 1,500 employees across five sites of Royale Cold Storage so this new site will add an additional 300,” Royale Cold Storage CEO Ferdinand Tongson said.

Presidential investment adviser Secretary Frederick Go led Friday's groundbreaking ceremony, saying the foreign investment boosts food security goals.

"I believe that this initiative is an important step in our fight against hunger and wastage," Go said, reading a speech on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Clients of this Bulacan cold storage facility include Jollibee, McDonald's, Bounty Fresh, Alfamart, and other food exporters.