Hottick bats for inclusion of Allengoal in new NSC bidding

Hottick Investment Ltd. continues to push for the inclusion of Allengoal Steel Fabrication and Trading in the new bidding for National Steel Corp. (NSC) being scheduled by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

In a letter to Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who heads the evaluation committee which will review the bids, Hottick insisted that Allengoal "be invited to participate again in this process to preclude potential roadblocks ahead."

Hottick explained the potential roadblock could be in the form of a prolonged court litigation that would only keep the NSC plant closed almost indefinitely.

Hottick earlier claimed that Allengoal should have awarded the contract to operate the mothballed Iligan plant of NSC as it had submitted the best lease proposal for the steel firm.

Allengoal has accused Roxas of setting aside its proposal submitted during the May 23 bidding.

Hottick and Allengoal, in fact, complained that the whole evaluation process that Roxas is following is intended to block Allengoal.

Roxas, however, has tried to explain that the evaluation process is supposed to be a consensus process with all parties evaluating the various offers and options to rehabilitate and reopen the mothballed steel firm.

Government had held two previous biddings, the results of which were never concluded.

During the May 23 bidding, three proposals were received coming from Allengoal, Glencore Far East Ltd. AG, and Cathay Pacific Steel Corp. (CAPASCO).

Roxas opened all three bids but set them aside after the Philippine National Bank (one of the major creditors of NSC) asked for an extension of the bidding period so that other offers could still be accepted.