Unioil sets reorg to wipe out deficiency

Unioil Resources & Holdings Co. Inc. will undertake a corporate reorganization to wipe out its capital deficiency, the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Unioil said its board of directors approved in a meeting held last week a plan to transfer the firm’s shares in Westmont Investment Corp. to a yet-to-be-formed company. Wincorp., a wholly-owned investment house subsidiary of Unioil, has been experiencing financial problems due to the withdrawal of investments of its investors.

The transfer of shares is pursuant to the reorganization plan of Unioil in order to remove its negative capital deficiency.

The company to be formed will be owned by stockholders of Unioil in proportion to their shareholdings. It will then be the holding company of the shares of Wincorp after the transfer.

After this exercise, Wincorp will cease to be a subsidiary of Unioil and that the latter will no longer have any capital deficiency as per its financial statements.

Unioil’s registration of securities was cancelled by the Securities and Exchange Commission as a result of the firm’s failure to file reportorial requirements on time and pay the assessed penalty of P235,100.

Among the reports that the company failed to submit on the due dates were its quarterly reports for the first and third quarters of 2002, notice of its annual stockholders meeting, and report on independent directors.

Unioil transformed itself from a gas and oil exploration and development company into a holding company engaged primarily in investment banking and other related concerns like equity and quasi-entity fund mobilization.

Formerly Unioil Exploration and Mineral Development Co. Inc., the company was incorporated by a group of prominent bankers, lawyers and businessmen, most of whom have had extensive experience in oil exploration and minerals development projects.

As a result of its conversion into a holding company, Unioil’s oil exploration assets and liabilities were spun off into another oil exploration firm called Phoenix Energy Corp., in exchange for the notes which are now carried on the books of the corporation as long-term receivables. – Zinnia Dela Peña