MPIC says it is poised for expansion
MANILA, Philippines—Infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has built up a war chest of P25 billion, which it is raring to invest in new acquisitions and the expansion of existing projects.
“We’re well-placed for all of these expansion projects and these PPP (public-private partnership) projects that we’re bidding for,” MPIC president Jose Ma. Lim told reporters after the company’s special stockholders meeting on Friday.
The P25-billion cash hoard was built up by MPIC from its share of proceeds from the sale of a portion of Maynilad Water Services Inc. to Marubeni of Japan, the equity deal conducted in January and some credit facilities.
The special stockholders’ meeting was conducted to approve the listing of new shares issued by the company as part of a P6.12 billion equity placement last January.
Lim said: “P25 billion is the available funding for new projects including existing expansion projects. It does not account for the amount of debt in the operating companies like Maynilad or MNTC (Manila North Tollways Corp.). It is only the share of MPIC and we’re assuming our share is 60-70 percent not 100 percent (in each project).”
This war chest will include funding for tollway projects, including the Harbor Link and the North Luzon-Express Luzon Expressway connector road, Lim said.
The MPIC group is likewise beefing up its water utility portfolio both within and outside the franchise of operating unit Maynilad. For instance, the group recently acquired a 10-percent interest in Subic Water. “We intend to raise our stake in Subic (Water) to at least 50 percent, maybe 70 percent, if government is inclined to sell its remaining shares” Lim said.
It was earlier reported that MPIC’s partner in Maynilad, Consunji-led DMCI Holdings, was willing to sell its 40 percent stake in Subic Water to MPIC to allow the consolidation of control.
At the same time, Lim said MPIC had an interest in bulk water supplier Philippine Hydro Inc. which would require additional investment for network expansion.
For the hospital business, the group has earmarked P3 to P3.5 billion for new acquisitions and prospective increase in ownership in the existing hospitals under its network. This budget calls for the acquisition of four new hospitals with 200 or less beds in operation, adding to the group’s existing hospital portfolio of 2,000 beds.
The budget includes the seed capital for potential ventures into railway and airport infrastructure development, including the Mactan International Airport Terminal and Ninoy Aquino International Terminal upgrading under the PPP framework.
“It looks like Mactan and the NAIA (projects) are going to move quickly, I don’t see any significant delays in these two,” he said.
