New BFF?

As the group of businessman Roberto V. Ongpin parts ways with London-based Ashmore group, several prominent names in the region have cropped up as potential new strategic partners in property firm Alphaland Corp.

One of those who have expressed interest to pick up Ashmore’s stake in Alphaland, several sources said, was Malaysian telecom tycoon Ananda Krishnan or A.K.

Forbes magazine estimates A.K.’s net worth at $11.7 billion as of March 2013, making him the second wealthiest man in Malaysia, next to property tycoon Robert Kuok, and among the richest in the whole of Southeast Asia.

One source privy to RVO’s affairs said A.K. had “expressed interest.”  The source refuted rumors that UK regulators had given Ashmore only until the end of this month to unload its stake in Alphaland (in relation to the DBP case), explaining that RVO was “not in a rush” as the group would have to pick one strategic partner who would stay for the long haul.

Another source said that A.K. had been doing a due diligence audit of Alphaland. Kuok himself was also among those eyed to fill the void to be created by Ashmore along with San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang but both reportedly had “politely declined.”

As the overhang on its shares lingers with a key shareholder on the way out, Alphaland’s search for a new BFF (best friend forever) is intensifying and the potential alphabetical fit is but a coincidence. Doris C. Dumlao

Henares moving?

Every now and then, word goes around that this or that key member of the Aquino administration will be axed or reshuffled.

In recent weeks, it has been the turn of Internal Revenue Commissioner  Kim Henares to be on the receiving end of these rumors.

Of course, she’s no stranger to talk about her being moved away from the tax bureau, having previously been rumored to be a nominee to the Supreme Court’s top post, as well as a potential replacement for Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon.

This time, however, there’s another name attached to the rumor. If the text messages going around are to be believed, a certain Imelda Fernandez has been anointed by no less than the President as Henares’ successor at the BIR.

Apart from Fernandez supposedly being backed by certain Aquino family members, the President also—as the rumor goes—wants to placate the restive Iglesia ni Cristo after at least three government officials backed by the religious sect recently lost their posts.

In addition, INC is supposedly upset with Henares for giving them “a difficult time” with tax issues surrounding the construction of the group’s gigantic multipurpose arena in Bulacan (although an official familiar with the issue insisted that the BIR chief had, in fact, been “helpful.”)

Henares shrugged it off, saying she serves at the pleasure of the President.

But the recurring rumors probably mean that other influential players want her out of the BIR. Daxim L. Lucas

Local beats foreign

The country’s first online stock trader is also the biggest player in the bourse.

BA Securities Inc. bested traditional foreign powerhouses in September with a chart-topping P58.14 billion in transactions.

The 20-year-old brokerage firm, which used to rank in the top 10, broke the long stranglehold of foreign firms in the market as the wholly owned Philippine unit’s rise in fortune coincided with the country’s emergence as the next big thing in Asia.

No wonder BA Securities Inc. president Bryan Lao Ang looked like a podium winner at the launch of the PSETradex—a web-based trading system that offered real time trade execution, reporting, monitoring and general analysis services—where his firm was the trailblazer.

“We view this as a new opportunity to tap into the retail investing market not just locally but especially offshore such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore,” beamed Ang in his speech during the bell-ringing ceremony of the launch graced by the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing.

The PSETradex would allow BA Securities to penetrate the potent retail market without losing focus of its institutional and high net worth clients. Getting to first place is one thing but staying there is the more difficult challenge. Will BA Securities stay at the summit? Abangan. Gil Cabacungan

Selling out, buying in

Dominant regional budget airline Air Asia Berhad of Malaysia is keen on increasing its exposure in recently rebranded AirAsia Zest but the latter’s founder and CEO said he hasn’t decided to sell just yet.

Nonetheless, Alfredo Yao, former ambassador and the man behind juice maker Zest-O, said “anything was possible” when it came to giving up his remaining controlling voting interest in Zest. AirAsia, through a local unit, already controls 85 percent of Zest’s economic interest but it owns just 49 percent of the voting shares.

“It depends on what we agree on. So there’s the price and it has to be for the right reasons,” Yao, who established Zest in 2008, told Biz Buzz on Friday. “But so far, I have not seen a proposal from AirAsia yet.”

Any change in ownership structure would require approval from Congress and the parties involved would submit the requirements once a final deal has been reached, AirAsia Zest director Joy Caneba said separately. “So far, it’s still an informal discussion,” she noted.

AirAsia Philippines executives have repeatedly said they were keen on taking control of Zest, which has struggled recently, in part due to ramped-up competition from larger players like Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines.

Zest, which has a fleet of 13 mid-range Airbus A320s and A319s, corners about 10 percent of the market for domestic flights. That figure is much smaller for the international pie. It plans to have 21 planes by 2015.

Yao might be holding out for a really good deal, but who could fault him?

AirAsia is unlikely to go anywhere else given its recent move to “temporarily” suspend flights out of Clark International Airport and to focus on Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where Zest has valuable slots.

It is a seller’s market, after all, when it comes to Naia’s congestion issues. Miguel R. Camus

Gokongwei’s empire

Investors and analysts packed a meeting room at the Gokongwei family’s Crown Plaza Hotel last Monday to hear the family discuss the IPO of Robinsons Retail Holdings, one of the country’s biggest stock deals valued at about P32 billion.

But for a few minutes the crowd witnessed some surprise guests.

The program barely started when the Imperial March theme blared over the speakers and a parade—led by George Lucas’ iconic Star Wars characters Darth Vader and Darth Maul, followed by a contingent of stormtroopers—briefly stole the spotlight from the presiding Gokongweis.

For a moment, it seemed like the family was sending a message to competition, perhaps in the same way Lucas’ fictional Imperial regime had terrified its smaller foes. (Let’s not delve into how the Empire eventually ended up at the conclusion of the Star Wars saga).

Later in a briefing, B.J. Sebastian quipped that this was not the intention and Star Wars toys were among the best-selling items at Toys ‘R Us, which the company operates in the Philippines.

Nonetheless, vice chair Lance Gokongwei said later that growing in scale was important as he saw the retail industry consolidating. And Robinsons Retail, of course, would be a “consolidator” in this game. Miguel R. Camus

Get business alerts and a preview of Biz Buzz the evening before it comes out. Text ON INQ BUSINESS to 4467 (P2.50/alert).