Ayala Stake in LRT-1 Remains Up in the Air, MPIC to Make a Move After Elections

On Wednesday, Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) chairman and president Manny Pangilinan announced that they will be deferring the possible buyout of the Ayala Group’s stake in LRT-1 until after the results of the 2022 elections have been released. Ayala had earlier hinted that it was willing to divest its shares in LRT-1. Meanwhile, MPIC is still yet to declare plans of expanding its shares.

“We’re looking at it. A great deal of it would depend on the outcome of the elections because we need to understand what the new president might do with respect to LRT 1 because we have pending applications for tariff adjustments,” explained Pangilinan, who maintains that most of the company’s plans will be put on hold until the next president takes office and their economic plans have been established.

“I think we would probably make a more serious assessment of what the likely direction would be once we see it, this particular individual who will be the next president of the country,” added the prominent businessman, particularly in response to whether MPIC would be looking to invest in airports such as the one in Sangley. “Does government really consider the private sector as a useful partner in economic development?”

Pangilinan also urged the government to put their words to practice when it comes to aiding the private sector. “If you use private-sector money, that money is entrusted to a corporation like us by shareholders and we have to earn money, funds that have been entrusted to us. We have to earn something for that,” he elaborated.

MPIC, in particular, has been involved in numerous Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects with the government. This includes the recently opened Cebu Cordova Link Expressway, which amounted to ₱32 billion. The company also has interests in other infrastructures such as toll roads and hospitals, as well as in Meralco and Maynilad.

Source: ABS CBN