PNB open to selling stake in PNB Holdings

MANILA, Philippines — Lucio Tan-led Philippine National Bank has expressed willingness to sell its stake in listed real estate holding company PNB Holdings Corp.

“Yes, we’re open,” PNB president and CEO Edwin Bautista said when asked if the bank would consider reducing its stake in PNB Holdings.

“So maybe get a strategic partner to, you know, get the whole shares, because at the end of the day we’re not really a real estate company. In fact, when we took it out of our balance sheet, the balance sheet of PNB itself was cleaner. It’s easy to value,” he said.

PNB is the largest shareholder in PNB Holdings with a 49.75-percent stake, equivalent to 23.35 billion shares.

Bautista said the potential sale of the bank’s shares in PNB Holdings would depend on “whoever will pay a good price.”

“I am just looking at the interest of PNB. I am obligated to sell it at best value,” he said.

PNB Holdings made its stock market debut last Sept. 25 after listing 46.93 billion shares by way of introduction on the Philippine Stock Exchange. This included 23.9 billion shares declared as property dividends by its parent firm, PNB, to its shareholders.

PNB Holdings owns, manages and develops strategically located commercial properties in Metro Manila, particularly in Makati and Pasay.

Its portfolio includes office, retail and event spaces anchored by properties such as PNB Financial Center, PNB Makati Center and its 8,000-square-meter property at the intersection of Buendia Avenue and Paseo de Roxas Avenue.

The company plans to pursue a phased redevelopment of selected assets, beginning with its Buendia property, which it envisions as a high-end mixed-use development.

“You can speculate (on why PNB Holdings’ ticker symbol is LTL), but it’s obvious. You know what LT is. L would be land, so figure out what L and T would mean,” Bautista said.

“Which is probably right because we want to as much as possible detach ourselves from PNB Holdings. Because some people think that it is the holding company that owns PNB. That is usually the thinking, but they ask why is the owner valued less than the son? So it creates confusion,” he said.

As for PNB itself, Bautista is optimistic the bank would sustain its strong first half momentum in the second semester.

PNB delivered a 17-percent jump in first-half net income to P14.6 billion on the back of stronger lending activity, higher fee-based revenues and improving asset quality.

“As you know, all our metrics are very good during the first half. So far the trend continues. I cannot tell exactly where it will land, but my guess is the growth rate is going to be very similar,” Bautista said.