Board formed for ASB Group projects

The various parties involved in the rehabilitation of the ASG Group of Companies have formed a Project Governing Board (PGB) to oversee the completion of projects and the development of the land-banked properties of the debt-saddled property developer.

The PGB will be chaired by Fortunato Cruz, the rehabilitation receiver appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, with ASB chairman Luke Roxas, lawyer Leonardo Siguion-Reyna (representing the unsecured creditors), and a representative from a still to be named trustee bank as members.

The guidelines for the operation of the PGB and its relationship to ASB, trustee bank, creditors, the SEC and other parties are being drafted by its financial adviser, former SEC commissioner Monico Jacob.

The formation of the PGB was in line with the SEC’s April 26, 2001 approval of ASB’s rehabilitation plan, which provides for the creation of an asset pool – an unincorporated entity to be administered by a trustee bank into which assets of ASB released from the secured creditors will be contributed.

Cruz said with the asset pool, funds could be generated to complete the unfinished developments, new projects could be started, and the assets properly managed for the benefit and interest of the creditors. Without it, he added, the properties of ASB in their present state would not be sufficient to settle all of the obligations.

The ASB group owes roughly P4 billion to about 700 unsecured creditors consisting of individuals, contractors and suppliers. Its bank loans, meanwhile, amount to less than P4 billion, the bulk of which are from Allied Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., United Coconut Planters Bank, Equitable PCI Bank and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

The ASB group is the owner and developer of numerous real estate projects, mostly condominium projects of which 19 are completed and four – the BSA Twin Tower, Garden Heights, the ASB Malayan Tower and Legaspi Place – are currently under various stages of construction.

Last week, the SEC approved the sale of P734 million worth of shares in the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) held by ASB and Roxas which effectively settled loans amounting to P455 million and generated cash of P194.3 million for the asset pool.

Cruz said while the trustee bank administers the asset pool, there is a necessity for creating a PGB to oversee the completion of the buildings and the land bank development.

"The PGB has just been organized but is actively sorting out the various issues it just act upon to hasten the implementation of the rehabilitation plan and enable the creditors to recover their investment in ASB," Cruz said.