Jollibee owner elected to PLDT board of directors

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) board has elected fastfood tycoon Tony Tan Caktiong as the company’s newest director, replacing Ma. Lourdes Rausa-Chan who resigned recently.

Tan Caktiong is the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Jollibee Foods Corp., the fastfood leader in the Philippines with over 1,600 stores (local and overseas), with brands like Chowking (Oriental fastfood), Greenwich (pizza/pasta), Delifrance (French bakery/cafe), Yonghe King (food chain in China), Chun Shi Tang (a Taiwanese tea house) franchise for China, Red Ribbon Bakeshop (cakes/pastries), and Manong Pepe (which features low-priced Filipino favorites).

Jollibee’s top executive joins the ranks of other business leaders in the PLDT Group that include Helen Yuchengco of RCBC and the Metrobank Group’s Alfred Ty.

At the same time, PLDT’s wireless group increased its cellular subscriber base to over 33 million as of end-June 2008, reflecting net additions of over 1.6 million in the second quarter of the year.

As of end-May this year, PLDT units Smart Communications Inc. and Pilipino Telephone Inc. (Piltel) had a combined subscriber base of 32.6 million. This translates to a 55-percent market share based on SIM subscribership, and a 59-percent share of market revenues.

Total cellular subscriber base for the first quarter of 2008 continued to grow strongly as Smart recorded net additions of approximately 280,000 subscribers and Piltel brand Talk ‘N Text added about 1.25 million subscribers to end the period with 20.6 million and 11 million subscribers, respectively, or a total of 31.6 million subscribers. As of end-April 2008, the PLDT Group’s cellular subscriber base had surpassed the 32-million mark.

“Despite the increasingly difficult economic environment, Smart sustained its strong subscriber numbers as we persevered with our efforts at finding creative solutions and meet our markets’ needs,” PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno said.

According to Nazareno, the mobile SIM penetration rate now stands at 60 percent (national mobile subscriber base of 57 million). “We are looking at a 75- to 80-percent SIM penetration rate within the next two to three years,” he said.

Earlier, PLDT Group chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the group is sticking to its P37-billion core profit guidance number this year, compared to P35.2 billion last year.

“We are also raising dividends to P26 billion out of 2008 earnings, strengthening our balance sheet and keeping our net debt to below P1 billion,” he added.

However, he stressed that this year’s reported net earnings will be very difficult to predict. “It is the exceptionals or non-cash items that will impact our reported net income. First, the exchange rate is moving in different directions. Second, are the gains and losses from derivatives. That is why we have to focus on the core earnings, which in our case are doing quite well,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan also pointed out that the current oil crisis, which at $130 per barrel will result in massive transfer of funds of about $1.8 trillion a year, has three aspects.

First, he noted that this redistributes world incomes, resulting in tremendous pressure on non-oil producers. Second, the nations affected including the Philippines are raising the prices of their own exports and increases the prices of basic goods. Third, the crisis results in a recycling of financial assets and liabilities.