NEVER MIND THAT BUSINESSMAN Manny Pangilinan recently said that he already has too much on his plate.

One more deal might not hurt, as it looks like First Pacific Co. Ltd. may gain majority control of the country?s biggest and only profitable listed mining firm Philex Mining Corp. sooner rather than later.

There may not be a protracted battle after all, but only a handsome buyout deal that will consolidate the mining firm?s diversified shareholder base.

We gathered that the MVP-led First Pacific and Roberto V. Ongpin are in talks for the former?s possible purchase of the latter?s stake. RVO, who recently has been accumulating shares in Philex, along with the recent moves of the GSIS, had long been rumored to be keen on cashing out of Philex to focus on other high-margin ventures.

But RVO being RVO, he will only sell at a hefty premium, and our sources say it is a price that MVP may consider in order to finally gain decisive control of Philex. It is also a price that will entice other government financial institutions?Social Security System (which has almost as large a stake as First Pacific?s) as well as the GSIS and Development Bank of the Philippines to sell as a block with RVO.

With a market capitalization of P89 billion (just a third of Meralco?s), Philex is seen as a lot easier for First Pacific to digest. Because a large chunk of its shareholders are unaccounted for?either dead, missing or indifferent?the only way to consolidate control is to buy out other blocks.

With the market?s recent obsession with Philex, it looks like a seller?s market out there. And there?s always some more room for food, even on a crowded plate.

Doris C. Dumlao

Arrested development

THE DEVELOPMENT of a relatively small but important section of Bonifacio Global City is being hindered by the apparent refusal of a unit of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to vacate its crumbling premises despite several deals struck earlier between government agencies and private developer Megaworld Corp.

In fact, the recalcitrant stance of the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) has become such an embarrassment for the DILG?its parent department?that Local Government Undersecretary Marius Corpus recently wrote the PPSC chief a letter that sounded like a half plea and half sarcastic reminder.

According to our source, PPSC was originally scheduled to relocate to a building owned by PET Plans, but later wanted to move to another building along Buendia Avenue in exchange for vacating its Fort Boni site. When it was learned that this building was unavailable, it proposed another Buendia location which would cost double its first option (a rate DILG was unwilling to pay).

Corpus is now urging (with a lot of exasperation, one could sense from his letter) the PPSC leadership to transfer to the PET Plans building posthaste, lest DILG faces legal action for breach of contract from Megaworld, which will develop the 7.1-hectare property.

PPSC, by the way, is headed by Margarita ?Tingting? Cojuangco as president. To DILG and Corpus... good luck, guys.

Daxim L. Lucas

Democratizing the awards

IN THE FIRST two years of its existence, both winners of the ING-Finex Chief Financial Officer of the Year award have come from the Ayala group (leaving not a few CFOs wondering if yet another official from the same group will bag it this year).

But lo and behold, this year?s awardee (and Ayala monopoly breaker) is SM Investments Corp.?s Jose Sio?a man who helped grow tycoon Henry Sy?s empire into one of the biggest conglomerates in the country today.

Sio, who joined the SM group after retiring as a partner at leading accounting firm SGV, shares the honor with SMIC, which recently tapped the overseas bond market bereft of any international credit rating but still raised $500 million at a record-low rate for any Philippine corporate bond issuer.

?The role of the CFO is changing because the mood of the international market is subdued,? he said.

?Only the company which has strong cash flows, balance sheet and potential for growth will be attractive to overseas investors. And we?ve got it all,? he said, using the SM group?s longtime marketing slogan.

So how does this year?s CFO awardee manage his personal portfolio? Sio says he keeps enough cash for daily needs and invests the rest of his money in long-term instruments. He is a believer in property as an asset class, with half of his wealth invested in real estate. The other half is in liquid assets, 60 percent of which are in bonds and 40 percent in equities.

The awarding ceremony will be held today. Previous CFO of the Year honorees were Delfin Gonzales of Globe Telecom in 2007 and Sherisa Nuesa of Manila Water Co. in 2008.

Doris C. Dumlao

Odds stacked... against him

FINANCE Secretary Margarito B. Teves said he will not resign like his former underling, Sixto S. Esquivias IV, despite his father saying the finance chief should have been the one who resigned due to the shortfall in government revenue collections.

Herminio G. Teves?who, like his son, is a former lawmaker representing Negros Oriental?said so during a forum held in Quezon City last week.

Esquivias quit as commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue because he was ashamed to stay on and he wanted to take responsibility for the agency?s failure to meet targets.

?My father and I, we have similarities, we are both Teves(es),? muses the government?s finance chief.

?But his hair is darker than mine,? added the snow-crowned official. ?We also have differences in mindset [such as regarding whether I should have resigned].?

The younger Teves said he was staying put despite the fiscal situation getting ?extremely stressful.? As of end-October, the budget deficit has reached P266.1 billion, breaching the full-year target cap of P250 billion?and threatening to hit a historic high of P300 billion by yearend (not something one would like to have on one?s CV).

The finance chief kept mum about his plans about a possible run for office in the May 2010 elections, saying this will be known before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy on Dec. 1.

Even then, Teves said there were indications as to what his decision would be: the deficit is bad, the reconstruction effort (he co-chairs the Special National Public Reconstruction Commission) is still in its infancy, and?perhaps most importantly?his popularity rating remains low.

Ronnel Domingo