BIZ BUZZ: ‘All-out war’

By Kevin Colleran On Oct 17, 2022

As we predicted a few weeks ago, the publicity war against San Miguel Corp. is now in full swing, with the conglomerate now being hit by critics from all sides, but most especially on the environmental and financial aspects.

In the weeks approaching the decision of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on the joint San Miguel-Meralco rate hike petition, a slew of advocacy groups made themselves visible to the media, with some attacking the environmental aspect of San Miguel’s power plants, several of which are fueled by fossil fuels (coal, specifically).

This is despite the fact that, according to the San Miguel camp, their total power output from fossil fuel plants stands at only 4,100 megawatts.

In contrast, the conglomerate’s rival—the Aboitiz group—has a total power output of 4,295 MW from coal-fired plants, plus another 767 MW from bunker fuel-fired plants.

“How come these environmental groups are only hitting us, when there’s someone bigger in the fossil fuel energy space,” one San Miguel official asked incredulously.

Meanwhile, there’s another line of attack against San Miguel that’s being exploited by its critics of late.

Last week, text messages started circulating urging bankers and investors to sell their San Miguel debt securities, with the same messages pointing to the conglomerate’s financial condition in the wake of the ERC’s decision rejecting its rate hike petition.

To Biz Buzz’s query about this, San Miguel head honcho Ramon Ang replied that bondholders have “nothing to worry about” because of the firm’s strong cash position.

“As early as the start of the pandemic, we started preparing for the worst case scenario,” he said. “Over the last three years, we’ve refinanced all our debts to take advantage of the historically low interest rates, so we are ready for all this.”

Most importantly, Ang pointed out that San Miguel has four power plants coming online over the next three years that would provide it with additional sources of revenue.

But will these be enough to quiet the conglomerate’s critics and business rivals? Abangan!

—Daxim L. Lucas

Speaking of green energy . . .

Sta. Clara International Corp. and its partner, Investco BHPI Inc., recently sealed a deal for the civil works and power plants of the 8.4-megawatt Maladugao (Upper Cascade) Hydroelectric Power Project.

Identified as one of the best areas for harnessing hydropower, Mindanao is already home to several large hydroelectric power plants erected over the past decades. The Maladugao Hydroelectric Power Plant will be built in the province of Bukidnon situated in Northern Mindanao.

The Sta. Clara team was led by its chair and managing director Nicandro Linao, deputy managing director Fernando Delgado and hydropower director Renin Belo. Meanwhile, the Investco team was represented by the company’s vice chair and corporate treasurer Kenneth Sytin, corporate secretary Constantino Navarro III and operations manager Antonio Abella.

Linao and Sytin expressed their enthusiasm for the immediate mobilization of the project and its significant impact on producing affordable electricity.

—Daxim L. Lucas

Regional honcho

Raymund Berja has become the first Filipino appointed as the regional chief financial officer of AirAsia Super App, which is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 42-year-old Pinoy is tasked with overseeing the super app’s operations in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, among others.

AirAsia Super App is the low-cost carrier’s bid to make booking for flights and hotel accommodations more convenient for passengers. The platform, which has 50 million users, also facilitates ride-hailing services, food deliveries and online retail, among others.

“I see this opportunity to bring in work ethic, values, expertise and collaborative mindset in influencing our five-year business plan and strategy in terms of growth and expansion,” Berja said.

“My goal is to provide a strong foundation for AirAsia Super App to sustain growth momentum and positive [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization], as well as to implement stronger finance governance and compliance, a disciplined fiscal management through the efficient and effective allocation of resources across line of businesses while balancing new product launches and expansion to new markets,” he added.

Concurrently, Berja serves as the managing director and country head of AirAsia Super App Philippines.

Berja has 15 years of experience in finance, having worked for ABS-CBN Corp., Jollibee Foods Corp., PLDT Global Corp. and Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

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