MANILA, Philippines -- The government is looking at being able to privatize its 40-percent stake in PNOC Exploration Co. and Food Terminal Inc. before the end of June or the last week of September at the latest, Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said yesterday.

Teves said the privatization of the two properties was expected to raise P21 billion?P11 billion from PNOC-EC and P10 billion from FTI?although valuations were being updated.

Asked why the disposal of these assets was continually being delayed, the finance chief said it was due to poor market conditions and legal considerations, particularly regarding FTI.

?Part of the property is being leased to locators in the zone,? he explained. ?They have lease contracts and we have to respect these, we have to wait until these are terminated.?

Teves said that initially, the government was considering to sell about 80 hectares of FTI, excluding 24 hectares that lessees ?more or less? occupy.

He clarified that the government was not waiting until the last lease contract expires since the government needed to be generating revenues.

The finance department is hard-pressed to raise more revenues as Malacañang has yet again revised its target deficit upward to P199.2 billion considering the need to spend more amid the worsening effects of the global economic downturn.

Earlier, the Government Service Insurance System expressed interest in buying the FTI property, with GSIS president and general manager Winston F. Garcia saying the pension fund was willing to acquire it for P7 billion.

But Teves reiterated that the government preferred a sale through competitive bidding rather than through negotiations. -- Ronnel W. Domingo