National Government to push sale of stakes in Meralco, PNCC this year

In an effort to raise much needed cash, government is pushing ahead this year with the sale of its shares in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC), Privatization Management Office (PMO) head Renato Valdecantos said yesterday.

Government plans to auction off its remaining 10-percent equity in Meralco in June, while the privatization of PNCC is being eyed sometime in the third quarter of this year.

Valdecantos, is expecting to raise at least P5 billion from the sale of government’s 83,720,643 shares in Meralco at P60 per share.

The 10 percent that the government is planning to auction as a block is composed of 40,054,325 shares held by the PMO in behalf of the National Government. Another 24,032,591 shares are being held by the Land Bank of the Philippines and 19,663,727 shares are held by a three-man board composed of a representative of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and two private sector representative.

"The Lopez family can participate in the bidding," Valdecantos said adding that "however, because Meralco is a public utility, no single stockholder can own more than 10 percent of the electricity firm."

The Lopez family remains in virtual control of Meralco as various Lopez-owned companies Meralco shares.

"The sale of Meralco shares would have to be approved anew by the Privatization Council, the entity which succeeded the COP," Valdecantos said.