‘Loser’s bloopers’

(Spy Bits took a break during the holidays, but we’re back and ready to roll, looking forward to the good vibes that the Year of the Horse is said to bring.)

Filipinos are expecting the DOTC to hit the ground running as far as vital infrastructure projects are concerned, remembering only too well the slow, dragging pace that marked the Year of the Snake due to numerous bidding delays for some reason or other.

One of the developments being closely watched by business groups is the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) project that saw the Megawide Construction Corp.-GMR Infrastructure consortium beating six other players with a premium bid of P14.4 billion – P400 million more than the second highest bidder – for a 25-year concession to operate the airport and build a new terminal.  Megawide-GMR was supposed to receive the notice of award this week but as usual, protests from losing bidders are derailing the implementation of this critical project. Several negative articles about Bangalore-based GMR’s other airport projects also began appearing in media, making it appear that the DOTC is about to commit a big blunder on the MCIA if it awards the project to the Megawide-GMR consortium.

Spy Bits, however, received information dispelling the accusations, one of them involving the contract to operate the Male Airport in the Maldives which was prematurely terminated in December 2012 – apparently a casualty of the political unrest that saw the half-brother of the longtime president taking over as new president after an election that sources claim had an “inconclusive” result. The $500-million Male Airport modernization contract by GMR – the largest foreign direct investment in the Maldives – was unilaterally canceled by the new government, much to the displeasure of the government of India. In any case, the new Maldives president is seeking an amicable settlement, admitting that the government needs to pay the company for the premature termination of the project.  

GMR is the third largest private operator in terms of passenger traffic next only to Ferrovial (which operates London’s Heathrow Airport) and TAV.  The Indian operator has been credited for modernizing several airports, among them the Delhi Airport which was ranked 101st by the Airports Council International (ACI) in 2006 before GMR took over its operations. By 2012, Delhi was ranked 4th in ACI’s Airport Quality Service awards.

As for allegations that GMR has no financial capability to undertake the Mactan-Cebu airport project, we also received information that the audited financial statement as of September 2013 shows the company’s consolidated net worth to be $1.68 billion with gross assets of $10 billion. Once again it looks like key infrastructure projects will not get moving if the DOTC allows sour-graping protests from losers to keep delaying the implementation of these vital projects.

PLDT – Philippines’ most valuable company

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. ended the year with a big bang as the country’s most valuable listed firm in 2013 with a market cap of P575.14 billion. PLDT ended the first three quarters last year with a P28.95 billion profit, up two percent from P28.38 billion recorded for the same period in 2012.

According to our friend Mike Toledo, media bureau chief of the MVP group, the nation’s biggest telco has been continually expanding its services and offerings, having captured 70 percent of the local home broadband market, its subscriber base posting double-digit growth, with a target of 100,000 subscribers next year. Its newest fiber optic network offering is expected to be a major contributor to the company’s growth.

According to our inside market analyst, PLDT has been aggressive in its projects, which is a good thing because it complements the core businesses. The company is focused on media-related prospects, which is why investors and fund managers continue to trust PLDT, the analyst averred.

Filipino-Canadian steps up to the plate

Armando Bacani is an old timer Filipino-Canadian who has been operating a meat shop in Granville Island for close to three decades. During that time, the Fil-Canadian has developed a reputation as the go-to-guy for the best meat cuts in the area, with customers that include not only private home chefs but even noted restaurateurs who are known to drop by Armando’s Finest Quality Meats to check out what he has in stock – which ranges from poultry, beef, lamb to elk and bison. Customers like hanging out in Armando’s meat shop – which he runs with his son Allan – because he is a fount of information when it comes to meat preparation and cooking, giving customers helpful tips like the kind of spices that go with what meat, how hot the grill or the oven should be, etc.

When Typhoon Yolanda struck in November last year, Armando launched his own fund raising effort for the victims. From Nov. 17 to 24, he raised $9,306 for the Canadian Red Cross from individual private contributions as well as from 10 percent of proceeds from his meat shop. And since the Canadian government has pledged to match every single dollar donated by Canadians to registered charity organizations, the Fil-Canadian was practically able to raise almost $20,000 for the victims of the typhoon. Now that’s really stepping up to the plate!

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