RSA may be elected vice chair of MPIC

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan said his new business partner Ramon Ang may be appointed vice chairman of the now re-privatized tollways conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). 

“I think we can elect him as vice chairman,” Pangilinan told The STAR when asked if Ang, who is now part of the MPIC board after making a personal investment in the company, would be taking other roles in the conglomerate aside from being a director. 

Pangilinan, however, said that nothing is final yet and that the board has yet to discuss such a move, if ever.

In August, the two tycoons signed a memorandum of agreement to jointly design, build and operate the 88-kilometer Cavite-Batangas Expressway (CBEX) and the Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway (NBEX).

The new road network effectively sets aside the two tycoons’ business rivalry and merges their similar, but separately proposed road projects in Cavite and Batangas. 

Pangilinan said there might be other collaboration, including the possibility of working together to create a powerhouse tollway company that could be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). 

This is even bigger than their initial joint venture, which is a P72-billion highway that will connect Cavite to Batangas. 

Ang, president and CEO of San Miguel Corp., was elected to MPIC’s board last month following “an indirect investment in his personal capacity in MPIC.

SMC itself has not made any investment in MPIC.

MPIC has voluntarily delisted from the Philippine Stock Exchange with majority shareholders launching a tender offer of shares held by the public. 

Aside from Ang, Mitsui and state-owned pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) also have board seats in the now privately held MPIC.

As a holding company, MPIC owns 47.5 percent of Manila Electric Company (Meralco); 99.9 percent of MPTC, the largest toll road developer and operator in the Philippines; 20.0 percent of Metro Pacific Health Corp., the largest private hospital operator in the Philippines; and 52.8 percent of Maynilad and other assets.