Malaysia's Berjaya steps up RP presence

MANILA, Philippines - Berjaya Group Bhd., a highly-diversified Malaysian conglomerate, is aggressively stepping up its presence in the Philippines as it prepares to enter the fastfood business to add to its existing investment portfolio consisting of gaming and hotels.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Prime Gaming Philippines, Inc. (PGPI), 68-percent owned by Hong Kong-based Berjaya Lottery Management Ltd., said it is subscribing to 65 percent of the subscribed capital of the soon-to-be established Berjaya Pizza Philippines Inc. (BPP).

BPP will have an initial authorized capital stock of P200 million upon its incorporation. 

The new company is bringing in Papa John’s to the Philippines. Organized in 1985 in Louisvuille, Kentucky, Papa John’s is the third largest and fastest-growing take-out and delivery pizza restaurant chain in the United States, with over 3,300 stores worldwide including 2,600 in the US and more than 500 in over 30 countries.

The franchise holder in Malaysia, Berjaya Pizza Co. Sdn Bhd. will subscribe to 20 percent or 23.999 million shares of BPP.

Sources said BPP is now scouting for a location of the pilot branch which it intends to open before the end of the year. 

The same source said PGPI, which will soon be renamed Berjaya Philippines Inc., continues to be on the lookout for business opportunities in the country. “The goal is to go into businesses where Berjaya is in like the food industry,” the source said.

Berjaya holds the Malaysian license for the the McDonald’s, Starbucks, Roasters, and 7-Eleven store franchise.

Through a series of acquisitions and organic growth, Berjaya has evolved into a major Malaysian conglomerate with holdings ranging from lottery and casino operations; hotel, resort development, and time-share development and management; mobile telephone services, through its holding in DiGi; motor vehicle sales through its Hyundai-Berjaya joint venture; the distribution of consumer goods and brands, including Cosway, Singer, and others; and the manufacturing and distribution of air conditioning, refrigeration, and related systems through subsidiary Dunham-Bush Malaysia, among others.

The group is also a major real estate developer in Malaysia. The company’s most recently completed project is the massive Berjaya Times Square complex, which, at more than 675,000 square meters of retail, entertainment, and leisure space, is the largest in the Asia Pacific region.

PGPI recently acquired a 212-room hotel in Makati City previously managed by Best Western, as part of its strategy to store up its presence in the country. Plans are now underway for the refurbishment of the hotel which could entail an investment of close to P200 million, the source said.

PGPI has a 100 percent equity ownership interest in Philippine Gaming Management Corp. which is involved principally in the business of leasing on-line lottery equipment and providing software support.