BIZ BUZZ: Blue chip to take a bite of CREIT

This blue chip conglomerate, one of the country’s largest, is actively shopping for “green” assets as part of global efforts to make the transition to a low-carbon future.

Looking at its shopping cart, the local business powerhouse is in the thick of discussions to buy a significant stake in Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT), which had brought to the local stock market the first renewable energy-themed real estate investment trust in 2022.

In the coming days or weeks, Biz Buzz gathered from reliable sources that a deal for the blue chip to buy a little less than 30 percent stake in CREIT may be sealed with the group of tycoon Edgar Saavedra, who chairs both CREIT and Megawide Construction Corp.

CREIT has a current market capitalization of about P17.3 billion, which means that the prospective buy-in deal could be worth a handful of billions in pesos.

READ: Renewable energy brings new flavor to REIT market

It is essentially a real estate company, but instead of leasing offices or shopping mall space, CREIT functions as a landlord to RE operators. It derives income primarily from lease rentals, particularly its parent firm, solar farm operator Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) and affiliates.

CREC itself is set to go public but missed its chance to be this year’s curtain raiser at the Philippine Stock Exchange. But if the deal between the blue chip and its subsidiary comes to fruition, the halo effect on the future initial public offering of CREC could be worth the wait.—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Connectivity team-up

By the third quarter, the second joint fiber optic network project of Globe Telecom Inc. and Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is set to go live, further extending internet connectivity in the provinces to support digitalization.

READ: Converge spending up to P19B in 2024 to expand network

The 209-kilometer (km) fiber project, which links Tacloban and Maasin via Baybay in Leyte, is 80-percent complete. Construction started in the third quarter of last year.

Prior to this, the internet service providers worked on a 137-km build from Pili, Camarines Sur, to Legazpi City, Albay.

“By pooling our resources and expertise, we’re not only expanding our network more efficiently but also significantly lowering the costs associated with such extensive infrastructure projects,” Globe head of network planning and engineering Joel Agustin said. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ