Gov't still waiting for Ashmore to exercise right on Petron stake

The government is still waiting for the Ashmore Group to exercise its right of first refusal on the government’s 40-percent stake in Petron Corp.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the London-listed fund managers which owns over 50 percent of Petron, has until Nov. 15 to exercise its right.

“There is no formal notice yet from Ashmore,” Teves told reporters yesterday.

He said that after Nov. 15, the government is prepared to offer Petron to interested buyers.

The government hopes to sell its 40 percent stake in Petron, the country’s largest oil refiner before the end of the year after the Finance department-led privatization council approved the sale last September.

The government has decided to sell its stake in Petron Corp., considered a crown jewel in the oil industry, to raise revenues for social services and infrastructure projects.

Teves said the government hopes to raise roughly P25 billion from the transaction and hopes to book the revenues by December.

The group earlier purchased the 40 percent stake of Saudi Arabia-based Aramco Overseas Co. in Petron for $550 million.

Acquiring the government’s stake will give Ashmore over 90 percent of Petron and full control of Petron.

The government’s sale of its stake in Petron, meanwhile, will end an era of state control in the oil refining business which started in the early 70s.

The Gokongwei group has already signified its interest to buy the government’s 40-percent stake in Petron.

Teves said that if the government successfully sells Petron, it would be on track with its program to contain the budget deficit at P75 billion for this year.