HONG KONG—Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) plans to sell 20-percent to 30-percent stakes in its Philippine and Indonesian toll road units via private placements as part of an effort to reduce its debt load, company officials said Friday.
MPIC chief finance officer June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla confirmed the discussions, saying the planned sale involves 20 percent to 30 percent of the Indonesian toll road project and a similar stake in the domestic unit Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC).
Cabal-Revilla said the final percentage would depend on valuation.
The move comes as MPTC’s debt ballooned to P80 billion on continued spending on various infrastructure projects and the acquisition of assets like the 35-percent stake in Indonesia’s Jasamarga Transjava, a deal done in partnership with Singapore’s GIC.
MPTC president and chief executive Gilbert Sta. Maria said the company is in talks with foreign and local investors for the private placement.
Sta. Maria said that while completed toll road projects are profitable, the short-term debts raised to fund these projects are stressing MPTC and its parent company, MPIC.
MPTC is also in the process of raising up to P20 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds—consisting of 3-year Series A, 5-year Series B and 10-year Series C bonds—to fund tollway projects and debt refinancing.
Sta. Maria said that once the company’s debt is retired, MPIC could look for other investment opportunities in Indonesia, such as elevated railways in Jakarta.
Earlier plans to find a strategic investor for MPTC were delayed due to geopolitical tension.
