BIZ BUZZ: BPI adds muscle to UP Fighting Maroons

The Gokongwei and the Zobel groups apparently did not just merge banks last year, they merged sponsorships, too.

This as the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) became the latest corporate backer of the UP Fighting Maroons Men’s Basketball Team, of which Robina Gokongwei-Pe, president of Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., is a longtime supporter.

No doubt it did not take too much effort to convince BPI, which took over Robinsons Bank in a P32-billion merger, to spare some cash to back the Fighting Maroons, which has become a consistent title contender over the past few years.

Earlier, BPI issued 314 million shares, equivalent to a roughly 6-percent stake in the bank, to JG Summit Holdings and Robinsons Retail Holdings to acquire the latter’s Robinsons Bank.

The banks’ merger took effect on Jan. 1 this year while BPI’s sponsorship of the UP Fighting Maroons Men’s Basketball Team will begin in the coming UAAP Season 87, which is auspicious as the University of the Philippines will be the host.

Perhaps the timing plus BPI’s support will help the Men’s Basketball Team improve on their Cinderella finish last year and become champions once again. —Tina Arceo-Dumlao

NDC seeks meet with Chevron over lease terms

The National Development Company (NDC) is looking to meet with Chevron Philippines Inc. (formerly Caltex Philippines) this month to discuss the renewal of the lease agreement covering several of the former’s multitude of properties across the country housing the latter’s facilities.

A government executive who spoke to Biz Buzz on condition of anonymity claimed that they were basically being lowballed by Chevron, with the lease proposal from the oil giant, which spans properties in Batangas, Cebu, Pampanga, and Davao, essentially resulting in a P173-million net negative impact to the government.

These properties include the 127-hectare San Pascual property in Batangas, which houses Chevron’s largest import terminal in the Philippines.

To recall, the Department of Finance (DOF) under former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III characterized the land deal between Chevron and NDC subsidiary Batangas Land Co. Inc.—which owns the lands—as “onerous.”

The DOF had said that Chevron was paying a monthly rental fee of just 74 centavos per square meter (sq m) for the Batangas property when appraisal reports showed the fair market rental value in that area should have been around P17.90 per sq m per month. —Alden M. Monzon INQ