Marubeni deal boosts MPIC’s P25-B war chest

MANILA, Philippines – The recent deal with Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corp. boosted the war chest of Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) for its various infrastructure, utility and hospital services ventures. 

Infrastructure conglomerate MPIC is setting aside a P25-billion budget for its bid for various big-ticket projects the government is auctioning off, as well as other expansion plans, said MPIC President and CEO Jose Ma. K. Lim on Friday, March 8.

Bulk of the amount would come from the proceeds of its deal with Marubeni. In February, the two firms announced that the Japanese firm acquired a 20% stake in water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. where MPIC has a 53% direct and indirect stakes.

The companies did not disclose the acquisition price, but earlier reports said the transaction could be valued at $400 million (over P16 billion). 

“It’s quite a substantial amount. We would have to invest it first before we [raise] any other equity,” Lim told reporters after MPIC’s special shareholders meeting in Makati City.

P25-billion budget

At the Friday meeting, shareholders approved the listing of new shares that are part of a P6.2 billion equity placement last January. In a disclosure to the Phiippine Stock Exchange (PSE), MPIC said the 1.33 billion common shares were sold at P4.60 apiece via private placement. 

Lim said the P25 billion budget represents the available funding for new and expansion projects. “It does not count the amount of debt that will be raised in operating companies. It’s only the share of MPIC in that.”

“For example, for tollway projects, we assume 60% to 70% not 100%,” Lim added, referring to MPIC’s stake in its tollway unit. 

Infrastructure, hospital, water

In the pipeline are tollway projects MPIC are eyeing: the NLEx-Harbor Link road, the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, and the Cavite-Laguna (CALA) expressway. The connector road has been approved but is still subject to a Swiss challenge. The CALA bidding has yet to start. 

Around P4 billion will go toward rail projects they are eyeing, while P5 billion will go toward their bid for the Mactan-Cebu International Airport expasion project. MPIC is among interested parties eyeing the construction and management of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Cavite Extension project and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3). 

“It looks like the Mactan and NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport rehab plan) are going to move quickly and I don’t forsee any significant delays in this,” said Lim. 

MPIC will also allocate about P3.5 billion for new hospitals they plan to acquire and increase their stake in those already part of their portfolio.  

They are also looking into expanding their water services portfolio. “We have a few water projects, within the franchise area and outside in Subic. We intend to increase our stake there to 50% or even 70% if the government is inclined to sell its remaining shares. We also have the investment in Phil hydro (bulk water provider) which requires additional investment for the expansion of the network,” Lim said.

“These are some of the projects that are coming along. The actual locations will determine which available projects will come first,” he added. – Rappler.com