MANILA, Philippines – Bright Kindle Resources and Investments Incorporated, a holding company owned by the family of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, is set to acquire a sand mining company for P5 billion.

Bright Kindle told the local bourse operator on Wednesday, May 22, that the company, as well as subsidiary Brightstar Holdings and Development Incorporated, is set to acquire Strong Build Mining Development Corporation (SBMDC), a company involved in magnetite sand mining in Leyte. The purchase will be done through issuing new common shares and assets.

The board of Brightstar also approved the increase of its authorized capital stock to P7 billion, divided into 70 billion common shares with a par value of 10 centavos per share.

Trading of Bright Kindle shares was suspended on Wednesday following the disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

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Martin Romualdez and his mining interests

Data from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) showed that SBMDC has a total mining area of 7,411 hectares and has a mining period from 2007 to 2032.

Data also showed that SBMDC has current assets of P37 million and current liabilities of P35 million. Revenues in 2016 reached P530,393, while it posted net losses of P6.5 million in 2017.

PCIJ noted that SBMDC was among the mining sites shut down by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for several violations in 2017, including non-compliance with water and waste management regulations. It was allowed to resume operations in 2020.

Meanwhile, Romualdez’s Bright Kindle has no operations other than being a holding company. It holds a 19.9% stake in Marcventures Holdings, which holds a mineral production sharing agreement covering 4,799 hectares in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur. – Rappler.com