MPIC unit may sell shares to fund road projects

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. plans to sell new shares to the public to finance its various tollway ventures. "We are considering [increasing our public float] in the context of our expansion. The increase will be similar to that of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. so we are talking about 25 percent to 30 percent," Jose Ma. K. Lim, president of parent Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said in a chance interview. Metro Pacific, which owns a 99.8 percent stake, was "willing to be diluted," he added. With outstanding shares of 4.97 billion, only 0.2 percent of the tollway firm is in the hands of the public. If the firm sells around 30 percent or 1.49 billion shares at its P8.50 closing price on Friday, a total of P12.67 billion in fresh capital would be raised. Lim said the money would be used to expand toll roads and acquire assets. "We might need to raise around P10 billion but this does not mean that we are going to raise this through equities alone. It will come from various sources," Lim said. The amount will be for the North Luzon Expressway’s Segments 9 and 10, which will connect the tollway to MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela and Manila’s Port Area, and the 13-kilometer North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway link from C-3 Road in Caloocan to Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati. Metro Pacific is in talks with Indonesian-led Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp. for the construction of the $192-million stage two of the South Metro Manila Skyway project, which will extend the elevated expressway from Bicutan in Parañaque to Alabang in Muntinlupa. It has also initiated talks with the state-led Philippine National Construction Corp. for a stake in the South Luzon Tollways Corp. Metro Pacific is the local unit of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., part owner of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a unit of the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT, has a minority stake in BusinessWorld. — Kristine Jane R. Liu, BusinessWorld