Pangilinan assumes Philex CEO post

MANILA, Philippines - Telecommunications magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan has been elected as chief executive officer of Philex Mining Corp. following the completion of the purchase of an additional stake by Hong Kong-based conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd.

Pangilinan, managing director and chief executive officer of First Pacific, concurrently serves as chairman of the Philex, the country’s largest and most profitable mining company.

First Pacific now holds 40.7 percent interest in the mining firm after acquiring 452.088 million Philex shares from a group led by former Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin for P9.49 billion. The group is entitled to five out of the 11 seats on the board of Philex.

First Pacific has installed Edward Tortorici, Albert Del Rosario and Marilyn Victorio-Aquino as representatives to the Philex board, joining prior appointee Robert Nicholson. 

Tortorici is an executive director of First Pacific Co. He oversees corporate strategy and guides strategic planning and corporate development activities for the First Pacific Group.

Del Rosario served as Philippine Ambassador to the US from October 2001 to August 2006. His business career of over four decades has spanned the insurance, banking, real estate, shipping, telecommunications, consumer prodcuts, retail, pharmaceutical and food industries.

Victorio-Aquino, a partner of Sycip Salazar Hernandez and Gatmaitan Law offices, has handled several mining projects including the financial and technical assistance agreement for the Didipio project by Arimco Mining Corp. and the exploration and development of the Tampakan project by Western Mining and of the Nonoc nickel project.

Petron Corp. president Eric Recto and Oscar Hilado, chairman of Philippine Investment Management Inc. (Phinma) mealwhile, were elected independent directors of the mining firm.

Aside from First Pacific, another significant investor in Philex is state-run pension fund Social Security System which owns 22 percent of the mining firm.

The recent purchase is in line with First Pacific’s bid to further beef up its investment portfolio in the Philippines through acquisitions. About 80 percent of its assets are invested in the Philippines, which include a majority stake in infrastructure and services firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.

First Pacific recently raised $282 million through a stock rights offering which the company intends to use to fund investments in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippine mining and infrastructure sectors.