Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Gotianun going into power-generation business

Filinvest considering two clean coal-fired facilities

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:39:00 12/07/2010

Filed Under: business, Energy, Industrial Components,Electricity Production & Distribution, Markets & Exchanges,Philippines - Regions, Banking

AFTER BUILDING a fortune in property development, tycoon Andrew Gotianun is breaking into power generation to cater to rising household and industrial demand for electricity.

In a disclosure posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp. said it was considering two potential clean coal-fired power generation projects, namely a 150-megawatt (MW) project in Luzon and another 150-MW project in the Visayas.

“FDC is in the process of applying for permits from the relevant governmental and regulatory authorities and is in negotiations with potential equipment suppliers and potential power off-takers,” the disclosure said.

With respect to the potential power project in the Visayas, FDC said it was conducting a feasibility study for a possible water desalination facility in the area that would be operated using off-peak power from the proposed power plant.

An expert in the Philippine infrastructure industry will be joining the Filinvest group starting January 1 to implement its planned diversification into infrastructure and utilities projects, the company said in the disclosure.

FDC mentioned its plan to add infrastructure and utilities assets to its business portfolio in the light of a recently announced equity fundraising.

The holding firm recently obtained its shareholders’ approval for the increase in its authorized capital stock by P7 billion to P17 billion to give the company leeway in raising fresh funds for expansion.

Specifically, FDC now has authority from shareholders to raise its authorized capital by issuing five billion common shares and two billion preferred shares, both with a par value of P1 per share.

Likewise approved was a top-up offering of up to three billion of FDC common shares worth more than P13 billion based on the current market price. This means the controlling stockholder of FDC, the Gotianuns’ ALG Holdings Corp., will offer and sell to new investors three billion of its common shares equivalent to up to 40 percent of the company’s stock. FDC will, however, issue afterward to ALG Holdings the same amount of shares that it sold, allowing new investors to come in at a faster way by borrowing shares held by the controlling stockholder.

ALG Holdings holds 5.76 billion shares or 76.7 percent of FDC. Including shares held in trust for a family member, the Gotianun group controls a total of 6.17 billion shares in FDC representing 82.25 percent of outstanding stock.

FDC has interests in property development, banking, sugar and hotel operations. Its subsidiaries and affiliates include Filinvest Land Inc. for residential property development, and Filinvest Alabang Inc., Festival Supermall Inc., Cyberzone Properties Inc., and Filinvest Asia Corp. for commercial property development.

It is also involved in financial services through Eastwest Banking Corp. and FDC Forex Corp., while the sugar farming and milling businesses are handled by Pacific Sugar Holdings Corp., Davao Sugar Central Co. Inc., Cotabato Sugar Central Co. Inc., and High Yield Sugar Farms Corp.

Seascapes Resort Inc. and Filarchipelago Hospitality Inc. are FDC’s subsidiaries for its venture in the hospitality business.

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