Metro Pacific allots P189.6 B over next 5 years for expansion

HONG KONG – Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), the Philippine flagship of Hong Kong-based industrial conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd., is spending around P189.6 billion over the next four to five years to further spur the growth of its power, water, toll roads and hospitals units.

In a briefing on Friday, MPIC president Jose Ma. K. Lim said the company continues to be in expansion mode with particular focus on new investments in toll roads, which will be the next engine of growth.

David Nichols, chief finance officer of MPIC, said bulk of the company’s groupwide budget, or P101.5 billion, would be channeled to retailing giant Manila Electric Co. broken down as follows: P64.5 billion (power generation) and distribution utility (P37 billion).

Around P40.5 billion will go to toll road unit Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., P25 billion of which will be channeled to new roads, acquisitions (P13 billion) and capital expenditures P2.5 billion).

Another P40.3 billion will go to water unit Maynilad Water Services Inc.

The remaining P7.3 billion will be used to bankroll the renovation or expansion of the healthcare services group which now comprises Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Metro Manila, Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod and Davao Doctor Hospitals Inc.

Nichols said Meralco has sufficient cash flow to support its funding requirements with P27.3 billion and net cash of P13.6 billion.

Meralco chief operating officer Oscar Reyes said the utility giant remains focused on reinvesting its profits to capture a larger share of the overall power business and improve service efficiency to all consumers. The company plans to achieve this through its continuing capital expenditure program on its electricity distribution network and entry into power generation and retail electricity supply.

Meralco recently forged a joint venture with Aboitiz Power and Taiwan Cogeneration to develop an aggregate 600-megawatt coal fired base-load plant to be commissioned between late 2014 and 2015. Reyes said the company is in talks with several power generation companies to boost its generation capacity by 2,400 MW to help augment capacity within the Luzon grid by 2014.

Maynilad president and chief executive officer Victorico P. Vargas said the company is expanding the capacity of its Putatan water treatment facility in Muntinlupa to 300 million liters per day from the existing 100 mld, serving 1.2 million customers. The expansion would entail an investment of P2.8 billion to P2.9 billion.

Ramoncito Fernandez, president of MPTC, said the company is considering bidding for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 2 expressway and Daang Hari road.

Augusto Palisoc, president of MPIC’s Hospital Group, said the company remains on the lookout for new acquisitions in Metro Manila, Central and Southern Luzon and the Visayas.