Biz Buzz: Battle of the MROs

Even before this administration announced plans to shift the country’s international gateway to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, the state-run Clark International Airport Corp. has already been making big plans for the former American air base.

One such plan involves its current locator, SIA Engineering (Phils.) Corp., which is two-thirds owned by Singapore Airlines’ SIA Engineering Co. and one-third owned by Cebu Pacific Air.

According to our sources, the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) firm is set to expand its operations to be able to handle wide-body airliners, including—get this—the Airbus A380 “super jumbo.”

At present, the MRO facility has only one hangar that services the repair needs of narrow-body Airbus A320s of Singapore Airlines and Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific, among others.

Plans are now being laid out to construct two additional repair hangars, one of which can handle aircraft like the Boeing B747 and the B777 (of which Singapore Airlines is the biggest operator in the world) and the A380s of Singapore Airlines (which requires special dimensions owing to its longer wingspan and taller tail).

Naturally, the new facilities will mean more jobs for skilled Filipino workers and a boost for both the local and national economies.

Groundbreaking for the new facility may happen before year’s end, said our source. This is, of course, SIA Engineering’s response to the move of its crosstown rival Lufthansa Technik to construct its own A380 MRO facility at its Villamor Air Base site to serve the needs of Australian carrier Qantas’ super jumbo fleet.

As always, competition is good for everyone involved.—Daxim L. Lucas

From PNB to UBP

You can’t keep talented people out of circulation for long as demand always finds a way to tap the limited supply.

Such is the case of former Philippine National Bank president Eugene Acevedo who, according to our sources, has sealed a deal to join Aboitiz-controlled Union Bank of the Philippines.

No, Acevedo will not become the bank’s president (at least not yet) but will, instead, head its corporate banking unit, said our sources.

Meanwhile, former Security Bank treasurer Bobby Reyes will also find himself traveling a different morning route. Instead of motoring to Makati, he will now take a ride to Union Bank’s Ortigas head office where he will run its lucrative treasury operations.

Both men will be working under Union Bank’s Vic Valdepeñas who is reputed to be one of the best treasurers and economists around town.—Daxim L. Lucas

New mining rush

The mining industry is in the news, left and right, positive and negative.

Just as President Aquino announced recently that he was not in favor of banning large-scale mining “because this would lead to an increase in small-scale mining that is more difficult to regulate,” mining companies are now scrounging around for Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs).

For instance, a petition for revocation of the MPSA issued to Celestial Mining Exploration Corp. has been filed by a certain Alfredo Manuel, president of Compania Minera Del Grande Inc. with Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje, “for palpable violation of the MPSA’s terms and conditions and violation of the Constitution.”

In the complaint, Manuel alleged that Celestial Nickel has neglected its MPSA for more than 17 years “to the detriment of the national government.”

The complainant said the firm also violated the terms and conditions of the MPSA by failing to conduct and conclude exploration activities, file the requisite mining feasibility study and start commercial production in a timely manner, and deliver revenues due to the government.

Under the MPSA, Celestial Nickel was granted exclusive right to conduct mining operations at Ipilan, Brooke’s Point, Palawan, covering a total of 2,835 hectares for a period of 25 years, or until Aug. 5, 2018.

The petition also stated that Celestial Nickel assigned the “operation” over the subject mining claim to a corporation that appears to be circumventing the 40-percent foreign equity limit imposed by the Constitution on mineral exploitation agreements.

Oh yes, with President Aquino’s seemingly pro-mining stance, it seems that companies are indeed pulling all the stops to find their own place in the brightly shining mining industry.—Margie Quimpo-Espino

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