SEM-Calaca hikes capital to P8 billion

MANILA, Philippines - SEM-Calaca Power Corp., a wholly-owned unit of the Consunji-controlled Semirara Mining Corp., is raising its authorized capital stock to P8 billion from a meager P5 million to facilitate the conversion of advances by its parent firm to equity.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Semirara said it made advances in the nature of deposit for future subscriptions to the capital stock of SEM-Calaca in the amount of P7.107 billion.

The advances represent the initial payment to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) for the acquisition of the 600-megawatt Calaca coal-fired thermal power plant in Batangas province. The Consunji Group won the auction in July last year with its bid of $362 million, less than half of what French utility firm Suez paid for it in 2007.

Emerald Energy, a unit of Suez, returned the power plant to the government in January after its condition deteriorated, forcing the government to resell it a lower price amid tough economic conditions.

The Consunji Group, through flagship DMCI, was one of only two bidders that showed up for the auction of the plant. Its bid edged out Thailand-based Banpu Power Ltd. Inc. which submitted a bid of $280 million.

The Calaca facility consists of two 300-MW generating units primarily designed to run as a base-load plant and designed to use local coal from Semirara. The two units are currently producing a combined capacity of only 350 MW.

SEM-Calaca was formed primarily to acquire, expand and maintain power generating plants, develop fuel for generation of electricity, and sell electricity to any person or entity through electricity markets. – Zinnia Dela Peña