PNB auction still a `go'

Finance Secretary Jose T. Pardo and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Rafael B. Buenaventura assured taipan Lucio Tan yesterday that the government will stick to its timetable for privatizing Philippine National Bank (PNB) by April or June and that there will be an open and transparent bidding for government's remaining 30-percent stake in PNB.

Tan dropped by Buenaventura's office to seek clarification on reports that Buenaventura and Pardo are not keen on privatizing PNB and are reviewing the options available.

Tan may also have wanted to find out if the government will be amenable to a negotiated sale since it is already well-known that Tan is interested in taking control of PNB and eventually merging it with his own Allied Banking Corp.

Buenaventura, in a talk with newsmen after Tan's visit, admitted that they assured Tan that the government will proceed with PNB's privatization as scheduled.

"It will have to be a transparent open bidding. That's what we told him (Tan)... there are no other alternatives," Buenaventura said.

Last month, Tan bought a 35-percent stake in PNB, making him the bank's biggest single shareholder.

Tan is now in a strong position to take control of PNB when the government puts its 30-percent stake on the auction block.