By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has deferred merger discussions with San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to focus on raising funds to pay down debt, its chairman said.
“We deferred the discussion with them because MPTC is raising money. We have significant debts. So, once we have achieved that, then we can resume the discussion,” MPTC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters last week.
MPTC expects to raise funds within the next two to three months via bank loans or private placements, Mr. Pangilinan said.
In 2023, MPTC reported its debt at approximately P145 billion to P150 billion, the highest among Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) units.
On Friday, MPTC announced the appointment of Jose Ma. K. Lim as its new president and chief executive officer (CEO), effective March 1, replacing Arrey A. Perez, who was appointed as MPTC’s president and chief operating officer in November last year.
Mr. Lim has been a member of MPTC’s board of directors since 2008. He served as president and CEO of MPIC from 2006 to 2022.
“[Mr. Lim] possesses extensive experience in infrastructure and utilities, as well as in financing, risk management, and regulatory matters. He will be able to lead MPTC to address the challenges of the business while maintaining excellence in the service that we provide our stakeholders,” MPTC said in a statement.
For now, the planned tollway merger with SMC has no definite completion date, although Mr. Pangilinan said he hopes it can be completed within the year.
MPTC’s Mr. Perez previously said that the company aimed for a 50-50 split in the planned merger with SMC, describing it as the ideal structure for the joint venture.
The company plans to leverage its international assets, with reports suggesting a 90-10 division favoring SMC in the expected tollway merger.
“Whatever it takes to make that happen — the 50-50 — if we’re going to include the international assets, we will include. For now, our mandate is to have a 50-50 arrangement,” Mr. Perez said in an earlier interview.
Last year, MPTC and its units, together with Singapore’s GIC Pte. Ltd., a global institutional investor, finalized an investment cooperation valued at $1 billion for the acquisition of a 35% stake in PT Jasamarga Transjawa Tol, a major toll road operator in Indonesia.
Jasamarga manages the 676-kilometer section of the Trans-Java toll road, serving between 700,000 and 800,000 vehicles daily.
This toll road is expected to add P30 billion in yearly revenue to MPTC, the company said, noting that this will help balance its toll assets with SMC.
MPTC is the tollway arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
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