Cyber Bay pushes debt-to-equity scheme

MANILA, Philippines - Cyber Bay Corp., a firm controlled by San Miguel president Ramon S. Ang, is seeking the Philippine Stock Exchange’s  approval to update its stock structure.

The move will formalize the debt-to-equity conversion of lenders of the listed real estate firm.

“In view of the approval of the debt-to-equity conversion, the company would like to request that the information appearing on the website of the PSE be updated,” Cyber Bay said.

Specifically, total and outstanding shares will increase to 13.27 billion from 6.16 billion, driven by the issuance of 6.46 billion preferred shares, Cyber Bay said.

In November, Cyber Bay issued P646.87 million worth of shares to lenders Philippine National Bank and Bangkok Bank.

The listed property firm secured the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval for the reclassification of shares, change in par value of the stocks and the debt-to-equity conversion way back in 2010.

In December, Cyber Bay said it is pursuing the collection of P11 billion in claims from the Philippine Reclamation Authority. The amount represents all costs related to the reclamation of land along Manila Bay.

The project was put on hold after Cyber Bay got into a legal tussle with the government involving ownership of the reclaimed land.

In 2002, the Supreme Court declared the contract illegal over restrictions on the sale of government land.

The High Court ruled that the deal violates the constitutional provision prohibiting private corporations from owning land of public domain without going through bidding.

Cyber Bay was originally incorporated on July 6, 1989 as First Lepanto Corp. It changed its name to Cyber Bay Corp. in 2000 following its foray into real estate development (except real estate subdivision) and reclamation.

It had planned to develop the Manila Bay property into a world-class center of commerce, entertainment, shopping and education, integrated with a mix of residential districts.