Del Monte denies Suntory takeover

 Economy
Jul 202013
 
Del Monte denies Suntory takeover

MANILA, Philippines – Newly-listed Del Monte Pacific Ltd. of condiments king Joselito D. Campos Jr. said it is not in negotiations with Japanese beverage giant Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. for a takeover. “Neither Del Monte Pacific nor its controlling shareholder, NutriAsia Pacific Ltd., nor its representatives, are in discussions with Suntory, its shareholders or representatives,” the company said in a disclosure. Shares of Del Monte Pacific, which implemented a temporary trading suspension, hit an intraday high of P27.05 on Friday before easing to P26.80, still up P1.13 compared with Thursday’s closing price. Several reports came out that Suntory, the maker of Boss coffee and Orangina soda, is planning to acquire Del Monte Pacific. Last month, Suntory completed Asia’s largest initial public offering so far this year. The softdrinks unit of conglomerate Suntory Holdings Ltd. raised nearly $4 billion, beefing up its war chest for a $5-billion acquisition spree that is seen to help double sales by 2020. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Del Monte Pacific, for its part, is the first company to list in both the Philippine and Singapore bourses. It is banking on increasing the footprint of its branded business here and abroad. The 23,000-hectare plantation of Del Monte in Mindanao is the world’s largest fully-integrated pineapple operation with a 750,000-metric ton processing capacity. It was set up in 1926 by the US government because of the widespread pineapple disease in Hawaii. Del Monte Pacific produces, markets and distributes food, beverages, and related Read More …

DOTC sees delivery of new MRT-3 trains by May 2016

 Economy
Jul 202013
 
DOTC sees delivery of new MRT-3 trains by May 2016

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) expects the delivery of the additional 48 new trains under the P3.8-billion Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 expansion project a month before President Aquino steps down in 2016. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said in a press conference that the prototype of the new trains is expected to be delivered by December next year and would be tested on the rails of MRT 3 along EDSA. Abaya said the new trains would be delivered by batches and the last batch of delivery of the 48 new trains is scheduled in May 2016. He said the agency’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) is now conducting post qualification procedures on the lone bidder that qualified for the bidding. He added that China’s Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co. CNR Group qualified for the bidding and submitted a bid of P3.759 billion or P10 million lower than the approved budget for the contract of P3.769 billion. Another Chinese firm CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd. was disqualified by the BAC due to lack of certain technical requirements. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The DOTC chief declined to comment on how long the evaluation process would take. Abaya said he would review the terms of reference for the bidding and would order a rebidding if he discovers that the terms favor a certain company or if any wrong doing is involved. He said a total of five groups bought Read More …

Plunge in Meralco stocks dampens index

 Economy
Jul 192013
 
Plunge in Meralco stocks dampens index

MANILA, Philippines – Profit taking and discounted sale of blue chip Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) dragged down the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) yesterday. The PSEi retreated 0.41 percent or 27.33 points to settle at 6,621.02, while the broader all shares index dropped 0.48 percent or 19.26 points to 4,032.08. Most active stock were mixed but the main index was dampened by the plunge in Meralco’s share price. Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) trimmed its 32.8-percent stake in the country’s largest power distributor. SMC sold 64.33 million Meralco shares at P270 apiece, representing a steep 10.71-percent discount compared with the previous closing price of P302.40. Top-traded Meralco lost 8.2 percent to end at P277.60 yesterday amid the heavily-discounted sale. Given the run-up of the benchmark index past the 6,600 level, some investors opted to book gains. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The local stock market bucked another record high in Wall Street, which was driven by strong corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.5 percent or 78.02 points to 15,548.54 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.5 percent or 8.46 points to 1,689.37. Closer to home, Asian shares were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 shedding 1.48 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.03 percent. Locally, most counters were in the red, led by financial firms that slipped 0.98 percent or 15.72 points to 1,595.30. Mining and oil added 0.57 percent or 81.52 points to 14,369.94.

Ayala Land starts P15-B bond offer

 Economy
Jul 192013
 
Ayala Land starts P15-B bond offer

MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has started tapping the bond market, marking its largest fundraising in the capital market thus far. In a disclosure, ALI said it kicked off yesterday the public offer of P15 billion worth of bonds due 2024. “It is ALI’s largest debt issue for a single tenor to date,” the company said, adding that the bonds carry a coupon rate of five percent. The public offering will run until July 25, which will be followed by the issues listing on July 30. “The issue size is inclusive of an additional P5 billion oversubscription due to strong investor demand,” ALI said. “Proceeds of the offering will be utilized to partially finance the company’s capital expenditure program for the year in support of its aggressive growth plans,” it added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last week, the property firm secured the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval for the issuance of as much as P21 billion worth of bonds in different tranches. In June, ALI’s board approved the sale of up to P21 billion in long-term, fixed-rate corporate bonds through a general public offering. It will be the largest fundraising of ALI thus far, eclipsing the P15 billion it secured from a retail bond offering in April last year. ALI hired BPI Capital Corp., BDO Capital & Investment Corp., China Banking Corp., ING Bank N.V. Manila branch and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead underwriters and bookrunners while First Metro Investment Read More …

DA bans birds, poultry products from S Africa

 Economy
Jul 192013
 
DA bans birds, poultry products from S Africa

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned the importation of wild birds, poultry and poultry products from South Africa because of an outbreak of low pathogenic avian (LPAI) influenza there. The ban issued on July 8, 2013 is meant to protect the health of the local poultry population and of consumers. In a memorandum, Agriculture Secretaray Proceso Alcala said the outbreak was confirmed by the Office Internationale Epizooties (OIE). Presence of LPA serotype H7N7 was seen in a commercial ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape Province. The LPAI virus was confirmed through real-time polymerase chain reaction conducted by the Agricultural Research Council-Ondersteproof veterinary Institute National Laboratory. Also covered by the ban are day-old chicks, eggs and semen from the Land of Lower Saxony. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The government has suspended the processing and issuance of veterinary quarantine clearance for such products. All shipments of such commodities, with the exemption of heat treated products will shall be confiscated at major ports.

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