SSS not keen on selling 22% Philex stake - Neri

MANILA, Philippines - The Social Security System (SSS), is not keen on selling its 22-percent stake in Philex Mining Corp. (Philex), the country’s largest publicly listed mining company.

SSS president and chief executive officer Romulo Neri said the agency may only sell its stake in the middle of next year to optimize pricing.

“We have no interest in selling it now. There are too many good developments in Philex,” he said.

Neri noted the recent discovery of Philex affiliate Pitkin Petrolem Plc of a major oil and gas field in offshore Vietnam.

Philex announced last June that Pitkin has successfully completed the drill stem testing of the Ca Rong Do discovery well in offshore Vietnam which flows oil at a combined rate of 3,265 barrels per day plus 8.1 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

The discovery marks the first major oil and gas discovery in Asia.

“We’d like to see these things develop,” Neri said.

He also expressed optimism that the mining firm would achieve its income projections for the year because of higher gold and copper prices.

Philex has doubled its annual income projections to P3 billion from the previous forecast of P1.5 billion and higher than the P2.8 billion profit in 2008.

Its higher projection is based on the currently prevailing level of metal prices at $950 per ounce for gold and $2.50 per pound for copper, Philex has said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

With these developments, Neri said the sale of SSS’s stake in Philex may not happen during his term.

 “It could be in the middle of next year but there might be another management by then,” he said.

In a separate interview, SSS senior vice-president for Investments Edgar Solilapsi said that various parties including San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang have expressed interest in the agency’s stake in Philex.

However, he said, SSS has not offered it to any of the interested parties.

Solilapsi agreed that Philex’ business is doing good and that it was not a good time for SSS to be selling its stake.

 “There are many possibilities,” he said.

A listed firm, Philex has operated for the past 51 years in Tuba, Benguet. Its Padcal mine is the only remaining large-scale copper-gold operation in the country.