San Miguel identifies Japanese partners for Laiban dam

MANILA, Philippines - Two Japanese companies were identified by San Miguel Corp. as its partners in its unsolicited proposal for the Laiban Dam project, considered to be Metro Manila's future main source of water. Ramon S. Ang, San Miguel president, told reporters that Toyota Tsusho Corp. would be its financial partner, while Orix Corp. will help the conglomerate with the project’s technical aspects. Toyota Tsusho, listed in the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges, is the sole trading company of the Toyota Group. It was originally established to provide consumer financing for Toyota Automobiles. Meanwhile, Orix is an integrated financial services group based in Tokyo. It is listed in the Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and New York bourses. It has been providing value-added products and services to both corporate and retail customers. With operations in 26 countries, including the Philippines and regions worldwide, Orix's activities include leasing, corporate finance, real estate-related finance and development, life insurance, and investment and retail banking. In 2007, Orix has partnered with Federal Land, the real estate developer of the Metrobank group, to put up the P4-billion “Grand Midori Makati" on Legaspi Street. San Miguel, through subsidiary San Miguel Bulk Water Co. Inc., has submitted an unsolicited proposal for the estimated $1-billion Laiban Dam project. After announcing that it had agreed to join a consortium that would build the 88-kilometer Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Toll Expressway Project, Ang said the company, through its tollway vehicle Private Infrastructure Development Corp., is looking at two other tollways to develop. These are the Nueva Ecija to Cagayan Valley tollways and La Union to Laoag. Ang said San Miguel will be acquiring at least 51-percent stake in PIDC. Companies belonging to the PIDC include D. M. Consunji, First Balfour, Inc., R.D. Policarpio & Co., Inc., D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc., C.M. Pancho Construction, Inc., EEI Corporation, J.E. Manalo & Co., Inc., J.V. Angeles Construction Corp., New Kanlaon Construction, Inc. “Next we will look for other opportunity with the Consunji group to look for more tollways," Ang said at the sidelines of San Miguel's annual shareholders' meeting. San Miguel's interests include stakes in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the Philippines’ largest electricity distributor; Petron, the Philippines’ largest oil company, and Liberty Telecom. Meanwhile, despite its foray outside its original food and beverage business, San Miguel chairman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. said the company will retain its core business “under his watch." “San Miguel will not be out of its core business as long as I'm chairman of San Miguel, or at least, not under my watch," said Cojuangco. He also said the company will remain “competitive" in the food and beverage industry and will always consider the Philippines as its main growth area amid its international beer operations. “We will be more competitive than before, that's our belief, anyway. We've always believed in the future of our country. This is our only home," Cojuangco said. In a separate interview, however, Ang said he could not determine how big in the company's investment mix would remain in the food business. “We could not say, especially if there are good opportunities available," Ang added. During the same meeting, San Miguel stockholders voted in favor of an Exchange Offer to convert 1.104-billion common shares to series 1 preferred shares, which are non-voting. The preferred shares, priced at P75 each, have a fixed dividend of eight percent per annum. The conversion gave alternative to “more conservative" investors who may have a different risk profile, Cojuangco said. Ang added that the converted common shares will now be part of the unissued stock of San Miguel, which could be sold in the future for the company’s capital raising needs. - GMANews.TV