PLDT exec to head TV5 network

First Pacific Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong has announced key changes in its corporate lineup and that of flagship unit Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) as it seeks to turn around an unprofitable television arm while laying the groundwork for further expansion in the country and abroad.

PLDT ended months of speculation when its chair, Manuel V. Pangilinan, named Noel Lorenzana, head of individual business of PLDT, president and chief executive of media investment arm and TV5 owner MediaQuest Holdings Inc.

Lorenzana, who joined PLDT in January last year as head of the wireless consumer unit of Smart Communications, will assume the post on June 1, replacing lawyer Ray Espinosa, one of Pangilinan’s trusted lieutenants.

Espinosa will move on as associate director and head of government and regulatory affairs of First Pacific, which owns some of the Philippines’ largest businesses, such as PLDT, Philex Mining, Manila Electric Co. and Maynilad Water Services. Espinosa will still keep his directorships in the group, including MediaQuest, the company said in a statement yesterday.

PLDT, which booked a net income of P35.5 billion last year, has not been modest in mobilizing its resources to implement this strategy.

“Our view is that PLDT is committed to grow the media side via TV5 and to capture more market share. That is why they have been putting so much resources into it,” said Bede Lovell Gomez of First Metro Investment Corp. “We don’t think they will leave the industry just like that. It is an area where Mr. Pangilinan sees long-term growth.”