Investment pledges a vote of confidence for Duterte — DOF

MANILA, Philippines - The combined P110 billion in investment commitments in the country’s energy and tobacco sectors are a vote of trust and confidence by foreign investors in the Duterte administration, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said yesterday.

“The credit goes to President Duterte who inspires trust and confidence in the Philippines,” Dominguez said.

He cited Macquarie Infrastructure Management (Asia) Pty Ltd. and Arran Investments, which created the Philippines Renewable Energy Holdings Corp. (PREHC) and offered to acquire up to 31.7 percent of Energy Development Corp. (EDC) for about P65 billion. 

Macquarie Infrastructure Management is a member of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), while Arran is an affiliate of the GIC Pte Ltd. of Singapore.

First Gen Corp., the mother company of EDC, informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) the consortium is set to acquire 6.6 billion to 8.9 billion common shares of EDC, mostly from minority shareholders, at P7.25 per share.

On the other hand, Dominguez said Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has also committed another P45 billion to take over cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp.

Of the total amount to be infused by JTI, more than half or P25 billion would be used to settle the tax liabilities of Mighty with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). 

Furthermore, the finance chief said the value-added tax (VAT) on the JTI-Mighty deal would bring in an additional P5 billion for the government.

“This means the total tax haul for the Bureau of Internal Revenue will amount to P30 billion,” Dominguez said.

Mighty through JTI remitted to the BIR P3.44 billion last July 20, representing the initial tranche of its tax settlement.

The balance would be settled once the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) approves the deal.