Business tycoon Manuel Pangilinan aka MVP has always wanted to go into agribusiness in a big way, with food security being top of mind for everyone in this world. His group has gone into sugar, ice cream and now, coconut production.
In the case of fully integrated coconut manufacturer and leading coconut exporter, Axelum Resources Corp., we heard that the founders were convinced to sell nearly 35 percent of the company to Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., because MVP has expressed confidence he could turn this $120-million (in terms of current revenue) company into a $1-billion enterprise.
On any given day, Axelum —the barometer for the economy of the town of Medina in Misamis Oriental—processes hundreds of thousand of coconuts purchased from small farmers within a 250-kilometer radius from its facility.
With the entry of MVP group as partner, it can scale up operations and help more farmers boost their productivity.
The Philippines, once the undisputed producer of coconut products globally, is currently on a neck-and-neck race with Indonesia. And that means Metro Pacific will itself be in a friendly competition with its Indonesian affiliate, Indofood, which is also into coconuts, among other agribusinesses.
Ahead of its partnership with MVP, Axelum was interested in acquisition opportunities within the region, particularly in Vietnam and Indonesia. Now, Axelum is seen to be in a better position to be a consolidator in the industry. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Speaking of which …
No court filings have yet landed in the hands of PLDT Inc., which recently found itself in hot water following the uncovering of its accumulated P48-billion budget overrun in the past four years.
The Inquirer recently reported that class action law suits had ben lodged against the company and its top executives in relation to the budget mess that had also resulted in financial losses on its investing public.
“Please be informed that the company has not been served with the documents mentioned in the Inquirer.net news article in relation to alleged class action suits,” the Pangilinan-led telco giant said in a disclosure.
“The company does not have any information to verify or deny the statements in the news article and it is company policy not to comment on impending or pending litigation,” PLDT added.
The article mentioned was based on a court filing obtained by the Inquirer. The lawsuit was filed by investor Sophia Olsson on behalf of other plaintiffs in a US court last week. Two US law firms also filed their cases against PLDT.
The parties were seeking compensation for financial losses they incurred from PLDT securities, whose prices spiraled when the budget snafu was announced in December 2022.
PLDT is currently doing a probe to further determine the reason behind the budget overrun. Initial investigations pointed to “over orders” of 5G infrastructure.
The telco player is set to hold its financial briefing next month. Now, the question is: Will it finally disclose further information regarding its probe? Let’s see! —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ