MVP Group eyes Davao farm

 Economy
May 212013
 
MVP Group eyes Davao farm

MANILA, Philippines – The group of businessmen Manuel V. Pangilinan is eyeing 30,000 hectares of land in Davao Oriental for palm oil production. Pangilinan, the managing director and chief executive officer of Hong Kong based First Pacific Co. Ltd. said the conglomerate’s agribusiness unit PT Indofood has sent a team to Davao Oriental to assess available areas  suitable for palm oil production.   “We’re still waiting for the assessment of Indofood with regards to a potential palm oil plantation,” he told reporters yesterday. “So far only palm oil has been assessed,” he added. The total hectarage is only 10 percent of what Indofood has secured in Indonesia. Indofood’s palm oil cultivation area in Indonesia is placed at around 240,000 hectares, making it the third largest palm oil producer in the world. “It is large in Philippine standards but not in global standards,” said Pangilinan. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Pangilinan’s group is planning to put up an integrated palm oil production chain starting from palm cultivation to producing crude palm oil from palm branches. Crude palm oil could be processed further into cooking oil and other applications. “We will build not only a plantation but also factories,” said Pangilinan. He said the finished products could be used for domestic consumption or for export. Pangilinan earlier said that his group is looking at sizeable agricultural areas that could be leased for cultivation of  palm oil, sugar, rubber, coffee and cacao. He said the conglomerate is more interested Read More …

SMC unit allots $1.5 B for 2 power plants

 Economy
May 212013
 
SMC unit allots $1.5 B for 2 power plants

MANILA, Philippines – SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., the power generation unit of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., is investing $1.5 billion for the construction of two new power plants, its top official said yesterday. In a briefing with reporters on the sidelines of Petron Corp.’s annual stockholders’ meeting, SMC president Ramon Ang said the energy unit is spending about $1 billion for the construction of a 600-megawatt coal fired-plant in Bataan in northern Luzon and $500 million for another plant in Davao. Construction for the two plants has already started, he said. He said SMC Global may construct more power plants, depending on the viability and business climate. “We’re supposed to do more. We’re still evaluating the best option,” he said. The two plants should start operating in the middle of 2015, Ang said. He said there are no plans to borrow for the funding requirements for both projects. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The (funding) will be in-house. Madami kaming cash,” Ang said. He also confirmed plans to revive the initial public offering (IPO) of SMC Global, possibly within the year. He said there is an interested investor who wants to come in. “There’s really a very hot buyer who wants to invest in that business,” he noted. He said SMC Global may sell as much as 49 percent, equivalent to $500 to $800 million. In 2011, SMC Global filed an IPO application before corporate regulators. The power generation firm earlier planned to raise Read More …

Greenberg firm enters non-life insurance mart in Phl

 Economy
May 092013
 
Greenberg firm enters non-life insurance mart in Phl

MANILA, Philippines – After nearly two decades, a major foreign insurance and financial institution has entered the country’s struggling non-life insurance industry. Starr International Insurance (Asia) Ltd. received its certificate of authority to operate from the Insurance Commission (IC) yesterday, after raising P1 billion as minimum paid-up capital. Starr International is part of C.V. Starr & Co. Inc., the diversified investment group of Maurice “Hank” R. Greenberg, the former the head of insurance giant American International Group (AIG). In an interview, Starr International Insurance president and chief executive officer Ross E. Matthews said they are willing to cooperate with other domestic insurers in creating business. He said they would be starting exploratory talks with AIG’s former – subsidiary Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life), which has a composite license. A composite license holder empowers it to operate both as a life and non-life insurer. Philam Life has not been utilizing its non-life insurance privileges in the past few years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “There are areas in their business were we can work together, especially their retail and corporate accounts,” Mattews added. The Hong Kong-based insurer said the Philippines is favorably viewed by foreign businesses, and that foreign direct investments (FDI) are expected to flood the local market. Starr International prefers to look for opportunities in the power sector, oil exploration and distribution, mining and mining-related activities, port operations and other port-related passenger and cargo activities, utilizes, real estate, airport and airport-related Read More …

Index inches up in listless trade

 Economy
May 092013
 
Index inches up in listless trade

MANILA, Philippines – The local stock market managed to eke out slight gains for the second straight session yesterday as investors exited the market ahead of a long weekend. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up 0.18 percent or 13.13 points to settle at 7,194.43, while the broader all shares index added 0.18 percent or 8.19 points to 4,481.81. “Investors appeared listless in yesterday’s trades, with the index staying generally positive despite a brief dip into negative territory before the midsession break,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Securities. Financial markets will be closed on Monday for the mid-term elections. The market failed to secure an additional push from Wall Street that benefited from rosy first quarter corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 percent or 48.92 points to 15,105.12 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 0.4 percent or 6.73 points to another record high at 1,632.69. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Locally, most counters were in the green, paced by holding firms that rose 0.38 percent or 24.77 points to 6,510.85. But mining and oil again bucked the trend, falling 0.13 percent or 24.76 points to 19,636.28. Investor participation thinned, with P6.68 billion worth of shares changing hands, down from P9.01 billion on Wednesday. Advancers outpaced decliners, 83 to 66, while 71 stocks did not change.

Manila Water to finish P6.1-B sewage treatment plant by Sept

 Economy
May 092013
 
Manila Water to finish P6.1-B sewage treatment plant by Sept

MANILA, Philippines –  East Zone water concessionaire Manila Water Co. Inc.  expects to finish the construction of its P6.1-billion sewage treatment plant in Taguig City in September. The wastewater treatment plant located at Liwasan ng Kagitingan at Kalikasan will service 350,000 residents of Barangay Western Bicutan. Manila Water Project Delivery Group OIC director Estelita Orodio said the Taguig North Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is a crucial component of the company’s Wastewater Master Plan which aims to reduce the pollution load in Metro Manila’s river systems especially the Pasig River which flows into the Manila Bay.   “Environmental protection is a major advocacy of Manila Water.  We have pioneered a number of initiatives to promote this cause and the construction of more STPs like this is part of our major contribution in the drive to clean-up Manila Bay,” Orodio said. The Taguig wastewater treatment plant is an underground facility that a can process  75 million liters per day. The land above the plant would developed into a public recreational park. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Upon completion of the plant, Manila Water would have 37 sewage treatment plants and two septage treatment facilities in its network. These facilities would process a total of 500 million liters per day. Manila Water services 6.2 million residents of portions of Quezon City and Manila, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Pateros, Makati, Taguig and several towns in Rizal Province. The company recently reported a flat growth in net income for the first Read More …

Gin, beer sales down due to sin tax

 Economy
May 092013
 
Gin, beer sales down due to sin tax

MANILA, Philippines – Higher taxes are taking their toll on liquor and beer producers, as drinkers seemingly get dissuaded from increasing their consumption. Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), which owns Ginebra San Miguel Inc. and San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB), recorded substantially lower sales volume in the first quarter, its top executive said. “I think our beer and hard liquor businesses were greatly affected by the tax increase,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang told reporters. “Our volume went down as much as 30 percent,” he added. Republic Act 10351 or the sin tax law took effect on Jan. 1, imposing higher excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products in a bid to increase government’s revenues while discouraging heavy consumption of cigarettes, beer, liquor, wine, and other tobacco and alcohol products. Specifically, taxes for fermented liquor (beer) was pegged at P15 per liter if the net retail price is P50.60 and below per liter, and P20 per liter for those with a higher price. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The rates will rise to P17 and P21 in 2014, P19 and P22 in 2015, and P21 and P23 in 2016, respectively. For distilled spirits, the tax is 15 percent of net retail price plus P20 per proof liter, rising to 20 percent plus P20 in 2015. The ongoing election season is not enough to buoy sales of Ginebra and SMB. “Usually, before elections, the volume should be very strong but volume is not Read More …

Philex to complete new tailings pond before rainy season

 Economy
May 092013
 
Philex to complete new tailings pond before rainy season

MANILA, Philippines –  Philex Mining Corp. said yesterday that it would be able to complete the construction of the new spillway for the compromised tailings pond of its Padcal copper-gold mine in Benguet before the onset of the rainy season. In a statement, the company said that the spillway, which will drain water from the broken tailings pond no. 3 (TP3), is seen to be completed by the end of June. The open spillway would replace the pond’s underground drainage system which was damaged last year, causing a massive tailings spill. The spillway would drain non-toxic water from the pond into the Agno River via the Maligaboy Creek and Balog Creek. Excessive water in the pond could cause the crest of its embankment to slump and trigger the release of water and sediment into the environs of the mine. Philex said that once completed, the spillway could channel as much as 1,000 millimeter of rain over a 24-hour period – equivalent to about two times the amount of rainfall brought about by the 2009 typhoon “Ondoy,” whose downpour brought 455 millimeters of rain over a 24-hour period. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Philex is currently conducting a process called beaching to fill the conical void in tailings pond no. 3. The spillway would then drain water from the pond as fresh tailings are dumped into the pond. The government allowed the temporary resumption of operations in the Padcal mine to last March 8, seven months after Read More …

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