No deals yet in Malaysia, Indonesia for MPIC

Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said talks for its tollroad subsidiary to invest in expressways in Malaysia and Indonesia fell through.

However, it remains keen on exploring new opportunities in those countries, a company executive said.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), which operates the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and Cavite Expressway, has already invested in roads in Vietnam and Thailand, as part of what it calls a Pan-Asean expansion strategy.

Last year, the company said it was in talks to invest in a 100-kilometer expressway in
Indonesia and a 50-km tollroad in Malaysia with domestic partners.

Rodrigo Franco, CEO of MPTC, said those deals would no longer push through.

“We are still looking at the two countries,” he told reporters. “There are other prospects.”

He did not identify targets, but noted that the company preferred to invest in existing road projects.

For Indonesia, he said they were focused on the island of Java, where the capital Jakarta is located.

Both Indonesia and Malaysia offered good prospects in the tollroad business, Franco added.

“Indonesia sells more than a million cars a year,” Franco said, adding that road congestion in Jakatra rivaled that of Manila.

Malaysia, meanwhile, has a population that is willing to pay toll fees.

“Malaysia has a culture of toll payments. I think the last count we saw, there were more than 30 tollroad concessions,” Franco said.

In the Philippines, tollroads are located in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. These are mainly controlled by three groups: Metro Pacific and San Miguel Corp. and to a smaller extent, Ayala Corp.

Metro Pacific, which is also involved in power distribution, water supply and hospital operations, sees tollroads as a major contributor to earnings.

Last year, MPTC’s operations accounted for 23 percent, or P3.5 billion, of the group’s total net operating income.

In Thailand, the company invested in Don Muang Tollway Public Company Ltd., while it invested in CII Bridges and Roads Investment Joint Stock Co. in Vietnam. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS