Allengoal to block new bidding for operation of NSC

Allengoal Steel Fabrication & Trading is determined to block any further effort to re-bid the operation of the mothballed National Steel Corp. (NSC).

Industry sources said Allengoal is getting a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to stop the opening of bids on Oct. 23.

Allengoal, sources added, is also set to question in court the legality of the grant of any new contract to operate the NSC plant in Iligan City.

Allengoal claims that it had already entered into a valid contract with the NSC Liquidator to operate the Iligan plant.

That contract, however, was set aside and an Evaluation Committee was formed to select an operator approved by all shareholders of NSC.

The NSC Liquidator recently announced that it will be accepting bids to operate the NSC plant.

Submission of bids would be up to 2 p.m. of Oct. 23, after which the bids would be opened.

Allengoal has gotten the support of Hottick Investment Limited which has shares in NSC.

Hottick, however, has lost most of its shares in NSC to the Malaysian state-holding firm, Danaharta, after it failed to pay maturing loan obligations to its Malaysian creditor banks.

Several Malaysian banks with exposure to Hottick were eventually taken over by Danaharta following a Malaysian banking crisis.

Hottick tried to derail the process instituted by the Department of Trade and Industry whereby an Evaluation Committee was formed and a consensus approach would be taken to decide on the operation of the steel firm.

The Evaluation Committee was comprised of representatives of the Philippine government, Hottick, Danaharta and local creditor banks.