Philippines News Archives

Friday, June 18, 2004

IFC to boost financing for power projects in region

By LEE C. CHIPONGIAN

The International Finance Corp., the World Bank corporate arm, is looking to improve funding facilities in the power sector especially in the Asia Pacific region, a high-ranking official said.

IFC country manager Vipul Bhagat said the region offers more possibility for energy investments and funding should be made available. "The Philippines is one of the countries in the region that merits more attention (as far as energy investments are concerned)," he said.

IFC has signed financing of $1.2 billion in addition to the $1.3 billion syndicated dedicated to its power sector portfolio. East Asia and the Pacific currently have a significant share of this portfolio or 31 percent while the Middle East and Africa has the largest with 35 percent. Latin America and the Caribbean have 15 percent of the $2.5 billion financing from the World Bank unit.

In total, IFC has $17 billion in capital investments or in its global portfolio for this year. Of this $1.592 billion have been invested in power utilities and $1.048 billion in oil and gas exploration. The biggest of the funding or $4.8 billion is reserved for the financial sector.

In the energy sector, Bhagat said IFC has about $15 billion in aggregate project costs or equivalent to 9, 500 megawatt capacity. In all there are 56 projects in 27 countries. Eighteen are in diesel and gas projects, 17 in hydropower and 15 in thermal and steam.

In Asia, IFC’s power investment portfolio is mostly in India with 37 percent of funding going to the country, 13 percent in the Philippines and 10 percent in China/Nepal.

Its Philippine investments are in the two Mirant Corp. projects in Pagbilao, Quezon and Sual, Pangasinan. These are the 1, 119-MW Sual Generating Plant and the 704-MW Pagbilao Generating Plant. Mirant is a low-cost power producer in Asia. In the Philippines it has 2,200 MW of generating capacity.

IFC also has investments in the Northern Mindanao Power Corp., Efficient Lighting Initiative and the Cepalco PV Solar Plant. It extended funding for Manila Electric Co. but has already completed its financing deal and are no longer in business with the Lopez utility firm.

As a private World Bank entity, IFC takes no government subsidies. It offers debt, equity, credit guarantee, local currency funding and risk management.

Its most recent Philippine investment is the $1.36 billion coal-fired 1,200-MW Pangasinan Electric Corporation (PEC).

IFC financing consists of loans of up to $30 million for its own account and up to $200 million for the account of international commercial banks and financial institutions.

The World Bank subsidiary will also subscribe up to $17.5 million in the share capital of PEC, amounting to about 5 percent of the total equity.

- posted by StockMarket @ 7:16 AM

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Australia's TransGrid Studying Philippine Grid for Investor

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- TransGrid, the biggest power transmission company in New South Wales state, is studying the Philippines' national power grid on behalf an Australian investment group and isn't considering a bid itself.

Philippine Energy Secretary Vincent Perez last Friday told the APEC energy forum in Manila that AES Corp. and TransGrid may bid for the grid, which the government has been trying to sell for the past two years. It's the government's third attempt to sell the nation's electricity grid after two previous sales were scrapped because only Singapore Power Ltd. submitted a bid.

TransGrid is examining the asset under a contract for ``an Australian investment underwriter,'' said Joe Zahra, manager corporate at the Australian company. It has no association with Arlington, Virginia-based AES in any bid for the Philippine power grid, run by National Transmission Corp., he said.

``We have no interest in the bid at all -- we have no association with AES,'' Zahra said in an interview. ``We are working for an Australian investment underwriter and we have an agreement to do a due diligence on the transmission assets.''

TransGrid's work, which involves examining the technical quality of the Philippine high-transmission network, is still underway, Zahra said.

- posted by StockMarket @ 7:18 AM

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Philippines Eyes New Export Markets For Chicken

PHILIPPINES - Philippine poultry raisers are gearing up to tap new chicken export markets such as South Korea and Malaysia.

The Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators Inc. (PABI) said that members would continue looking for new markets even if there is a shortage in the local market.

PABI is composed of the country's largest agri-business firms, including San Miguel Foods Corp., RFM Swift Foods Corp., Tyson Agro Ventures Inc., Universal Robina Corp. and Vitarich Corp.

PABI spokesperson Ruben Pascual said that going for South Korea and Malaysia was part of the industry's bid to corner a portion of the $500-million export market for chicken products.

He said that aside from San Miguel Foods and RFM-Swift Foods, Tyson Agro-Ventures and Vitarich Corp. plan to export to Malaysia within the next six months, although the volume has not yet been finalized.

SMC-Foods and RFM exported more than 50,000 kilos of deboned chicken meat to Japan from February to April amid the bird flu scare that gripped most of East Asia.

The Philippines remains free of the dreaded avian flu virus.

Agriculture and trade officials, however, claimed that the country would need to import at least 5,000 metric tons of chicken to shore up the local supply in the coming months.

Government officials said the chicken imports would avert another spike in the price reminiscent of the December 2003 holiday surge when retail prices rose to as high as 140 to 150 pesos per kilo.

- posted by StockMarket @ 5:47 AM

Monday, June 14, 2004

Philippines govt to assume Napocor debt

Manila, Philippines, Jun. 14 (UPI) -- The Philippines government will assume $8.9 billion in debt held by the state-owned National Power Corporation as part of an energy sector restructuring.

Napocor's huge debts and operating losses have delayed its planned privatization for over a year.

Though the move is expected to add to the budget deficit, the government is still committed to achieving a balanced budget by 2009, officials said.

Finance Secretary Juanita D. Amatong said the state-owned power firm's debts are expected to be manageable since maturities extend up to 2020, BusinessWorld reported. She declined to say, however, how much is due this year.

- posted by StockMarket @ 7:19 AM

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