Biz Buzz: Out with the new, in with the old

The question on who will control Philippine Airlines (PAL) was finally settled but many more remain, such as whether reforms under San Miguel Corp. will continue and even how employees feel about the “new-old” management coming onboard.

The first question may take some time to figure out as the deal for SMC to sell back its 49-percent stake to Lucio Tan’s group has yet to close. But we have early clues as to the second item—especially on the return of former PAL president Jaime Bautista, who apparently remains “well-loved” among airline employees.

A source at the recent PAL service awards (where employees are recognized for their loyalty to the company) said that Bautista was present and received a standing ovation when he was asked to deliver the closing remarks.

That sentiment apparently reflected Bautista’s down-to-earth personality, including making sure he knew everyone in the company down to the names of the janitors. Birthdays are also important events, with Bautista making sure he greeted workers via traditional text message and online, via social networking site Facebook.

Current PAL president Ramon Ang, who sits at the helm of SMC, has also won fans among PAL’s workers.

We hear many will miss Ang’s fearless and aggressive business approach—one that has helped lift PAL from its recent struggles versus the Tan group’s more “conservative” style. Some employees are now wondering how much things will change, or remain the same, with this next chapter in the airline’s history.–Miguel R. Camus

‘Left JAB’

What does a lifelong banker do when he retires with a wealth of experience behind him and lots of free time ahead of him? Well, write a book, of course.

This is precisely what banker Joey Bermudez did as he retired from a multi-decade career in finance that saw him work for several banks and end up heading not one but two of them (Chinatrust Philippines and Philippine Veterans Bank).

Launched after a Mass to celebrate his retirement from banking last Monday, the book—called “Left Jab”—is a collection of Bermudez’s published articles and speeches from the last five years, modified to suit a book format.

After leaving Veterans Bank, Bermudez will devote more time to Maybridge Financial Group (which he chairs) and its fast-growing business in Manila and Toronto. The company, which has a strong advocacy program for helping improve financial access of less affluent groups, will also expand to Iloilo.

“Of course, since I am just chair, not president of Maybridge, I’ll be able to visit my family more often and longer,” he said.

Back to his newly launched book—which was sold out during last Monday’s event at the Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park—we learned that the title also dovetails into Bermudez’ initials, which are J.A.B.–Daxim L. Lucas

Nickel smelting

Long before Sen. Bam Aquino filed a bill to ban the export of unprocessed mineral ore, nickel miner Marcventures Holdings Inc. has been hatching plans to put up its own nickel-smelting plant within its mining site in Surigao del Sur as its vast reserves—plus a possible cooperation with another mine in the area—give it enough volume to justify such a capital-intensive project.

Aquino’s bill (likened by many to the policy adopted by Indonesia) has given Marcventures’ project more “urgency.” As a smelting plant with a capacity of about 10,000 to 15,000 tons a year will typically cost around $300 million, like its peer Nickel Asia Corp.—which has benefited from robust nickel prices, especially with prospects of tighter global supply of nickel ore with the proposed Aquino legislation—we hear that Marcventures has entered “exploratory” talks with potential foreign partners.

The company is now looking at mainland China in search of a potential partner for the smelting project but many factors are still being considered, like cost of power. In any case, everything is still in the “study and scoping” stage.

Another option on the table is to tap a glass-melting furnace of an existing metal corporation under a toll arrangement but from what we hear, Marcventures is now leaning more toward the option of building its own smelting capability and has sounded off some banks on the possibility of project financing. If and when the greenfield project is activated, the country will have another nickel-smelting plant in two years’ time.–Doris C. Dumlao

Another PPP deal

Investors still hankering to run one of Metro Manila’s busy elevated railways may soon get another chance.

The Department of Transportation and Communications is set to invite bidders for its next PPP deal, the operations and maintenance-only contract for the Light Rail Transit Line 2 in the next two weeks or at least within September, Transportation Undersecretary Rene Limcaoco told Biz Buzz.

Yes, we sense some raised eyebrows among you. After all, why proceed with another railway deal while the awarding of the much larger P65-billion LRT-1 extension to Cavite has effectively stalled. (That issue has become complicated after the SM group got a Supreme Court injunction over the location of the LRT-1’s common station with MRT-3).

No doubt, the DOTC is preparing its own answers to investors on why LRT-2, the smallest of the three elevated railways in Metro Manila, makes business sense. This early, interest over the deal has been mixed.

Ayala Corp. managing director John Eric Francia expressed interest on the LRT-2 deal due to “synergies” with LRT-1, which it would have bagged with Metro Pacific Investments before the Supreme Court order came out.

Malaysia’s AlloyMTD, another group initially eyeing LRT-1, however, was not planning to join as they were unconvinced about its prospects right now, country president Isaac David told Biz Buzz.

Whether that is a sentiment shared by other bidders, we should know in the coming weeks.–Miguel R. Camus

Golf prodigy

Apart from heading a storied property developer, Ayala Land Inc. president Bernard Vincent “Bobby” Dy is CEO of a household with a potential Tiger Woods-type prodigy.

Five years ago, Dy introduced golf to his son, Jed, who has since emerged as the country’s most promising young golfer. Now, at age 10, Jed had participated in 10 world championships for kids, out of which he topped four, won second place thrice and ranked fourth also thrice. The latest feat was winning the US Kids Golf World Championships in Pinehurst, North Carolina, last August.

In July, the fifth-grader settled for second place at Callaway Junior Worlds in San Diego.

Sports chroniclers have labeled Jed as “the most successful Filipino ever in US major junior world championship events.”

Although Dy is obviously very proud of Jed and tries to be physically there for some of the overseas competitions, he tells Biz Buzz that he tries to avoid being overly involved.

“We make sure we keep a certain distance; otherwise, he’ll be pressured or feel obligated to pursue this endeavor for us,” he said. “We support him because it’s what he wants so we provide him the opportunity. The rest is completely up to him.”

Dy is himself fascinated at how Jed quickly picked up the sport.

“Actually, he doesn’t play the whole year,” the ALI chief said. “He only plays maybe seven to eight months in a year. Otherwise, he may get burned out. As a kid it’s hard to sustain that and then whenever he decides, if he says he wants to go, he prepares.”

For next year, Jed has told his parents he wants to go back to the US to compete anew, this time for the 11 to 12 age-group category.–Doris C. Dumlao

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