Biz buzz: 2GO’s woes

The ongoing boardroom battle between the chief of logistics firm 2GO, Sulficio Tagud, and up and coming petroleum and shipping tycoon Dennis Uy seems to be headed toward more interesting times as no solution can yet be found outside the legal arena.

Biz Buzz spoke to 2GO chair Francis Chua who said he had tried several times to mediate between Tagud and Uy with little success because, according to him, both gentlemen’s positions seem to be set in stone.

Recall that Davao-based Uyñthe man behind Phoenix Petroleum Corp. ñacquired a significant minority in Tagud-run 2GO by buying the stake of the firm’s Kuwaiti stakeholder. But Tagud is trying to block Uy’s entry into the board, claiming he had the right of first refusal over the shares involved.

“I was trying to mediate. I wanted to bring them together, but so far nothing yet,” said Chua, who said he was an independent company chair.

But there could be an unexpected complication to the dispute, thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling which affirmed an earlier rule requiring firms to stick to a 60:40 ownership structure when foreign owners were involved (with foreigners strictly restricted to the 40 percent cap).

The Supreme Court stressed that firms should maintain a 60:40 ownership mix for all classes of shares, whether voting common shares or non-voting preferred shares.

2GO has a substantial foreign shareholder base in the form of the Kuwaitis and the China Asean Fund and, depending on whether their ownership is reckoned in terms of common or preferred shares, may or may not put the firm beyond the legal threshold, we were told.

Uy’s lawyers are confident their side of the dispute is the winning side. Whether it will play out as they believe remains to be seen. Abangan! —DAXIM L. LUCAS

Mining contrarian

While others are scrambling to leave the mining business amid an “unfriendly” regulatory regime, nickel miner Marcventures Holdings Inc.—under former banker Isidro Alcantara—sees the challenging times as an opportunity to bulk up and become a key player in the future.

With a recent deal to buy two mining firms, Marcventures will scale up its nickel mining operations by about 33 percent and it will become the only Philippine firm extracting bauxite, a highly valued commodity used for the production of aluminum, used in the aerospace, transportation and construction sectors.

Marcventures will merge with Asia Pilot Mining Philippines, which owns two mineral production sharing agreements (MPSAs) covering a combined 12,129 hectares of bauxite-rich mining site in Samar. It will also merge with the holding company of Brightgreen Resources Corp., which owns an MPSA for 4,860 hectares of nickel mining site adjacent to its current site in Surigao del Sur.

We heard that a mineral resource report by SRK Consulting has estimated the bauxite resource in Samar at more than 110 million metric tons. The merger will give Marcventure access to more than 20 million additional metric tons of nickel resource.

By expanding its nickel mining capability, Marcventures seeks to stabilize its supply of nickel because in the next two years, it plans to invest in nickel-processing plants. This is in anticipation of the possible ban in the exportation of ore.
Sources said Marcventures would invest some $150 million in a processing facility using rotary kiln electric furnace technology that will produce nickel pig iron, the raw material for stainless steel. Another $100 million will be invested in a vat leaching facility that will produce nickel hydroxide (said to be a cheaper technology than the high pressure acid leach perfected by the Sumitomo group).
Marcventures is in serious talks with a Chinese group—one of its major buyers—that could be its technical and strategic partner for the processing facilities. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA

Turning tide for ridesharing

Despite having a bumpy ride with regulators in its early days, it looks like the government is finally starting to look kindly on—and more importantly, appreciate—the local operations of global ridesharing giant Uber.

Or if not the entire government, at least one important part of it.

We’re talking about the Senate whose committee on public services recently recognized the value of ridesharing firms like Uber (and rival, Grab) and what they can do to reduce vehicular traffic congestion for long-suffering motorists and commuters, in Metro Manila and other growing urban areas around the country.

Of course, you wouldn’t completely sense Uber’s elation at the positive first step going by their formal statement in reaction to the Senate’s positive move.

“With Senate Bill 1284, the Senate Committee has recognized the value and contribution of ridesharing and carpooling as a viable solution to traffic congestion,” the company said.

Of course, that’s just a preliminary victory for Uber and the ridesharing industry. There’s still a long way to go before they can rest easy.

If only other regulatory agencies in the executive branch would open their minds and think of the welfare of commuters, instead of the welfare of aggressively lobbying traditional transport groups, right? —DAXIM L. LUCAS