Monday, September 7, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
THE GOVERNMENT is planning to sell off most of the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) complex next month and expects to net P13 billion, the Finance department said.
Auctions for a stake in Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) as well as a 50-year lease for a prime Tokyo property will also push through this year as the goverment seeks to shore up revenues amid the economic downturn, Finance Undersecretary Crisanta S. Legaspi said.
Successful auctions, she said in a chance interview, would allow the government to meet this year’s privatization target of P30 billion.
"[The FTI auction will be in] October ... The indicative price is P13 billion," Ms. Legaspi said, declining to elaborate further.
Initial estimates place the value of the PNOC-EC stake at P11 billion, while the Fujimi property in Tokyo is expected to add some P6 billion.
Ms. Legaspi, who heads the Finance department’s privatization group, said the government was confident the asset sales would draw investors.
"Yes, we think there will be interested investors... We will be able to attain our revenue target," she said.
"The sale of the PNOC-EC shares will be done within the year. [The auction for the] Fujimi property [will also be done] within the year," she added.
The FTI is a 120-hectare agro-industrial commercial estate in Taguig that is host to about 300 firms. Ms. Legaspi has previously said that only 103 hectares would be sold as state grains agency National Food Authority already owns parts of the property.
The government, meanwhile, owns 99.79% of PNOC-EC, which has interests in eight petroleum service contracts in the country. Ms. Legaspi said a floor price was still being finalized.
The 4,361-square meter Fujimi lot in Tokyo, lastly, was part of Japan’s reparations to the Philippines for damages suffered during the Second World War. A building there serves as the residence of the Philippine ambassador to Japan.
All three assets were supposed to be auctioned off last year but poor market conditions forced the government to defer the plan to this year. — A. D. B. Romero
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