San Miguel, Toyota unit eye P1-B grains terminal
By Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:07:00 07/22/2008
Filed Under: Company Information, Joint Ventures, Agriculture
The beverage and food group San Miguel Corp. is in talks with trading giant Toyota Tsusho Corp. on a possible joint acquisition of the Mariveles Grain Terminal (MGT) in Bataan province, northwest of Manila, an important port for bulk grains and commodities handling, sources of the Philippine Daily Inquirer said.
Inquirer sources privy to the deal said the acquisition could be sealed in a month’s time and would be worth roughly P1 billion.
The Mariveles grains terminal is a major gateway for bulk grains handling such as flour, soy bean and corn.
Mariveles lies at the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula by the mouth of Manila Bay. The grains terminal started operating in 1996, and is the first of its kind in the Philippines and one of the most advanced in Asia.
Under agreements entered into with the Philippine Ports Authority and the province of Bataan, listed port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) holds the right to develop and operate the Mariveles bulk grains terminal for 20 years through 2013, renewable for another 20 years.
An official of ATI declined to comment on the San Miguel plan, saying he had no knowledge of the deal.
On Dec. 17, 1993, ATI and San Miguel, with the blessing of the provincial government of Bataan, entered into a sublease agreement covering 2 hectares of the 10-hectare area originally leased by ATI. The property is being used by San Miguel for its integrated bulk handling terminal operations for malt.
Last Oct. 24, the permit to operate the grains terminal was transferred to Mariveles Grain Corp. (MGC), a wholly owned subsidiary of ATI. The terminal has four unloaders or port equipment that can discharge wheat at an average rate of 10,000 metric tons a day. The unloaders can also discharge at least 10,000 MT of soya bean meal a day.
From the vessels, cargoes are being transported to silos via conveyor belts and plastic bucket elevators.
The Toyota Tsusho group is one of the biggest trading groups in the world. Its main business is to support Toyota Motor’s automobile business and other Toyota group firms. It is comprised of more than 350 subsidiaries and affiliated companies.
The trading company is involved in sales of a broad range of products such as metals, machinery and electronics, automotive components, energy and chemicals, foodstuff and consumer products.
San Miguel was reportedly looking at taking over the Bataan port since 2003 to boost its logistics network, improve agribusiness operations and cut distribution costs.
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