First Pac investing add’l P97 B in Phl

Tokyo, Japan – The First Pacific group led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan is investing an additional P97 billion in the Philippines to accelerate the growth of its telecommunications, water distribution, power, and infrastructure businesses.

In a briefing, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) chief finance officer David Nicol said he expects group-wide capital spending to reach P96 billion to P97 billion next year.  This amount includes the P36 billion capital budget for telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and as much as P5.9 billion for Philex Mining.

For the MPIC group alone, about P53.7 billion has been earmarked across all units for 2015, significantly higher than the P35 billion programmed this year. 

About P17.5 billion would go to Maynilad Water Services, a joint venture with Japan’s Marubeni Corp. and the Consunji family’s DMCI Holdings Inc. to expand the water firm’s sewerage facilities and further widen its reach.

Another P14.7 billion would be channeled to projects committed by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) the country’s biggest power distributor to sustain strong growth and deliver improved services to its customers.

Meralco president Oscar S. Reyes said the power firm remains committed to continue to invest heavily in its franchise area and in power generation with about P86 billion budgeted over the next five years or until 2019.

The company is installing new facilities and strengthening existing infrastructure to make the distribution system less susceptible to damage from extreme weather and climate change, Reyes said.

To further widen its reach, Meralco is looking at other cooperatives and ecozones as well as access other private-owned enterprises.

Meantime, P10.3 billion has been earmarked for the tollroads business under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. while P2.3 billion would be spent on expanding hospital operations.

Nicol said about P8.9 billion has been allotted for the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line (LRT-1) to the province of Cavite from Baclaran, Pasay.

He also noted the potential level of continuing growth in the healthcare sector given the low bed to population ratio in the Philippines.

Nicol said the number of hospital beds per capita in the Philippines is below global average, providing opportunities for private healthcare operators to fill the supply gap.

Relative to other Asian countries, the Philippines relies more heavily on the private sector in healthcare delivery as compared to neighboring countries in the region, he said.

The group continues to be on the hunt for new acquisitions to further grow its chain of premium hospitals, which comprises Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Asian Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and De Los Santos Medical Center in Metro Manila, and Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod, Davao Doctor Hospitals Inc. and Central Luzon Doctors Hospital with a total of 2,712 beds.