MPTC sells 10% stake in Indonesian unit

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has sold its 10.32 percent stake in its Indonesian unit to a group of Japanese investors for $35 million.

MPTC said its wholly owned subsidiary CIIF Infrastructure Holdings Sdn. Bhd. entered into a share purchase agreement with West Nippon Expressway (NEXCO-West), Japan Expressway International Co. Ltd. (JEXWAY), and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp. for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN) for the acquisition of its 10.32 percent shares in PT Margautama Nusantara (MUN).

MUN operates four toll road concessions through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Jakarta as well as Makassar in Sulawesi Island.

MPTC said having JEXWAY, NEXCO-West and JOIN as strategic partners would significantly contribute to the growth of MUN.

“Their knowledge and capability in toll roads will be instrumental in identifying operational efficiencies and improvements,” it said.

“Each of JEXWAY and NEXCO-West are well-known for their extensive experience and expertise in operating and maintaining toll roads, while JOIN is the first and only government-private fund in Japan that specializes in overseas infrastructure investment,” MPTC said.

CIIF originally held 20 percent equity interest in MUN. With the transaction, it will remain a holder of 9.68 MUN shares.

MPTC will continue to hold majority shares in MUN following the transaction through PT Metro Pacific Tollways Indonesia, a wholly owned Indonesian subsidiary, which holds an equity interest of 75.89 percent of PT Nusantara Infrastructure Tbk, which then holds 74.98 percent equity interest in MUN.

MPTC is the tollways arm of infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

Aside from Indonesia, MPTC also has presence in Vietnam and Thailand. It is also on the lookout for possible opportunities that could mark its entry in other countries in Southeast Asia.

In the country, MPTC holds in its portfolio of projects the NLEX, SCTEX, CAVITEX, and current construction projects Cavite-Laguna-Expressway, C5-South Link, Connector Road, and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.