Berjaya’s local auto unit hikes capital to P220 M

MANILA, Philippines - Berjaya Auto Philippines Inc. (BAP), the new distributor of Mazda vehicles in the Philippines, has obtained the Securities and Exchange Commission’s nod to raise its capitalization to P220 million from P10 million.

Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya Group subscribed to a portion of the increase in authorized capital  amounting to P58.7 million. 

Bermaz Motor International Ltd., a joint venture between the Berjaya Group and Japanese automaker Mazda, invested  P125.4 million in fresh capital in exchange for a 60 percent stake in BAP.

The capital increase is intended to facilitate the issuance of new shares to BMIL, a subsidiary of Bermaz Motor.

Bermaz-Motor is the sole distributor of Mazda branded vehicles in Malaysia.

The Berjaya Group has been steadily expanding  its presence in the Philippines with various interests in the gaming/lottery business through Philippine Gaming Management Corp., hotel management (Berjaya Manila Hotel), and food and beverage (Papa John’s Pizza).

BAP marks the Berjaya Group’s foray into the highly competitive Philippine automotive market.

Mazda ranks as one of Japan’s leading automakers with two main production sites in Japan and 14 overseas facilities. Its Hiroshima factory is one of the largest single-site automobile facilities in the world with an annual production capacity of over 500,000 units.

Mazda intends to continue its focus on emerging markets with a goal to sell 150,000 vehicles in the Asean region through March 2016.

Aside from Mazda, Berjaya distributes other car brands such as Aston Martin, Mercedes Benz, Skoda and Chana, Brilliance and Joylong.