MPIC to invest P60 billion in 5 years

HONG KONG — Poised for growth, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is pumping in over P60 billion in the next five years.

In a press briefing held at First Pacific Co. Limited’s headquarters in Hong Kong, MPIC president Jose Ma. Lim said a large chunk of the programmed capital budget or approximately P32 billion will be channeled to the continued upgrade of Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s facilities and distribution network in line with the group’s goal of providing 24-hour, uninterrupted water supply.

The private water concessionaire for the West Zone is targeting to boost its billed volume by more than 70 percent and reduce its non-revenue water to 40 percent.

Lim said about P26 billion will be used to enlarge its tollroad business, under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) Lim said MPIC is also willing to spend P4.11 billion to give Manila North Harbor a long-delayed facelift.

The company intends to pursue a P12-billion deal with businessman Regis Romero for a 25-year contract to reconfigure the existing port to modern specifications and expand the operational area from 52 hectares to 70 hectares.

The Manila North Harbor which handles more than 85 percent of the domestic containerized and breakbulk cargo is expected to give a rate of return of 25 percent.

He expressed confidence that the contribution of Maynilad, MPTC and healthcare unit, will grow by 45 percent, 12 percent and 18 percent, respectively (from 2009 to 2013) to accelerate the expansion and improvement of its water distribution, tollroads, and healthcare services, and to hopefully modernize the country’s biggest domestic port, the Manila North Harbor.

Among MPTC’s projects include Segment 8.1 which will connect the NLEX from Mindanao Avenue to Valenzuela City; Segment 9 and 10 covering a distance of eight kilometers from NLEx to MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela and Port Area in Manila; and the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road Expressway from C3 in Caloocan City to Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City.

About P2 billion has been set aside for the rehabilitation of its hospitals as well as the purchase of new equipment and facilities.

MPIC has been aggressively building up its healthcare service portfolio in line with its vision to establish the first nationwide chain of premiere hospitals in the Philippines.

“Metro Pacific is reaping the rewards of prior investments and planting the seeds for future growth. We are reporting record results, exciting growth prospects for our portfolio companies, a new investment in the largest electricity distributor in the country and a potential investment for the operation of one o the largest ports in the country,” Lim said.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of MPIC, said 80 percent of First Pacific’s investments are located in the Philippines with the balance in Southeast Asia.

Lim said MPIC’s proposed investment in Meralco is also expected to boost the holding firm’s revenues and exert significant influence over the operations of the company.

“We haven’t included the potential income from Meralco. We hope to close anytime between now and October 17. We hope to close the deal soon so we can equitize the earnings of Meralco.”

By the end of the year, MPIC is seen to complete the acquisition of 144.385 million shares (equivalent to a 13 percent stake in Meralco) for P18.2 billion with an average cost of P126 per share.

Funding for the purchase will come from a combination of shares in MPIC and cash.

Pangilinan said the group is open to acquiring additional Meralco shares at the right price.