MANILA, Philippines - The Sy family may inject its mining investment under Atlas Consolidated Mining Corp. into APC Group Inc., which is likely to become the group’s listed holding vehicle for its energy-related assets.
On the sidelines of SM Investment Corp.’s briefing on its nine-month results last week, the company’s chief financial officer Jose Sio said integrating all energy and mining businesses under a single entity is an option but pointed out that the matter is something the group has yet to look at.
“It’s an option but we haven’t really discussed that,†Sio said.
The Sy group owns more than a quarter of top copper producer Atlas.
Sio said APC is currently undergoing a restructuring program, targeted for completion this year as it focuses efforts on renewable energy generation to capitalize on increasing demand for electricity amid continuing economic growth.
The Sy family, which has interests in banking, shopping malls, retail and tourism, is hoping to make its presence felt in the power generation sector, currently dominated by the Lopez group and Aboitiz Power Corp.
Conglomerate Ayala Corp. itself has broken into the energy sector via acquisitions and partnerships with other existing players.
The SM Group, in particular, is looking at geothermal power. It partnered with global energy giant Chevron for a $300 million 100-megawatt geothermal plant in the northern province of Kalinga. The facility will come on stream in 2018.
APC and Chevron will be drilling exploration wells until the third quarter of 2014. If the wells have sufficient geothermal resources, the partners will begin building the power plant.
Aside from this, APC’s other geothermal service contracts are the Mainit-Sadanfa geothermal project and the Buguias-Tinoc geothermal prospect in Kalnga and Benguet province, respectively.
The SM Group, through private firm All First Equity Holdings, is Chevron’s partner for the latter’s geothermal power business in the Philippines. They organized Philippine Geothermal Power Production Co., Inc. to advance their interests in the Philippines.