BIZ BUZZ: Leyte’s Chua prepares for P3-B stock debut

Iloilo and Capiz produced an Edgar “Injap” Sia II and Cebu has Jose Soberano III-led Cebu Landmasters, while Pampanga and Davao have their respective Dennis Uys.

Now there’s a new tycoon in the making, and this time he’s from Leyte.

We’re talking about 43-year-old infrastructure ecosystem builder Francis Lloyd Chua, whose P510-million acquisition of two-thirds of shell company Asiabest Group International (ABG) recently made news.

By the third quarter of this year, Chua (not related to the stockbroker with the same name) plans to raise about P2 billion to P3 billion by selling to the stock market 20 percent to 30 percent of ABG shares.

Chua bagged his first big-ticket construction deal when he was in his 20s: a portion of the US-funded Millennium Challenge road in Samar, and has never looked back since.

He dreams of addressing the huge housing backlog in the country—not just as a developer but more so as an integrated provider of construction materials like precast concrete, aggregates, and cement. By the way, he also operates his own ports and shipping fleet to easily transport those heavy materials.

And while he started in Leyte, his businesses have gone nationwide.

In Makati, he has a brand-new 21-story building (along Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension), PMI Tower, now the head office of his real estate venture that also serves as a showcase of his capability to undertake vertical projects.

Chua aims to leverage his group’s partnership with Singapore-based SMEC, the designer of the iconic Marina Bay Sands, in promoting its precast and modular technologies.

Using this technology, the group dreams of being able to produce 1,000—this is no typo—house units per day.

Today, his flagship subsidiary is Concrete Stone Corp., which has precast concrete plants located in Bataan, Leyte, and Davao Oriental.

It may be recalled that Chua, through Industry Holdings & Development Corp., also earlier acquired a minority stake in listed construction firm EEI Corp., which in turn is backed by the Romualdez family.

In a press chat yesterday, Chua said he would like to bring each of his key businesses to public hands someday.

If so, this would not only unlock the valuations of various enterprises he has built over the years but likewise speed up their expansion.

Thus, ABG won’t be his last stock market foray. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Thank you, Joey

It has been years now since ABS-CBN Corp.’s request to renew its free TV franchise was turned down by the previous administration back in 2020, resulting in the retrenchment of thousands of employees.

This forced the media giant to leverage digital platforms to stay afloat, even teaming up with former rival GMA Network Inc. and other broadcasting companies to deliver their content to the mass audience.

Digital has become ABS-CBN’s new normal, but Rep. Joey Salceda wants to bring back the Kapamilya network’s free TV franchise through a bill he recently submitted, a move welcomed by the Lopez-led company.

“While we are not aware of [Salceda’s] filing of a bill to grant a broadcast franchise to ABS-CBN today, we are deeply grateful for his support and belief in ABS-CBN’s contributions and mission to serve the Filipino public,” ABS-CBN said.

It also expressed gratitude to other lawmakers who had filed similar bills, namely Reps. Gabriel Borado Jr., Arlene Brosas, France Castro, Raoul Manuel, Johnny Pimentel, and Rufus Rodriguez.

But last year, ABS-CBN said it had no plans of reapplying for a broadcast franchise, especially given its digital pivot.

Will this new bill change ABS-CBN’s plans? Let’s see! —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad