Top Business News

EDC to seek power deal for Casecnan
[BUSINESSWORLD]LOPEZ-LED Energy Development Corp. (EDC) is looking at participating in the bidding for the contract to administer government power deals with independent power producers or IPPs, particularly that for the 140-megawatt (MW) Casecnan hydroelectric plant in Nueva Ecija.
"We are interested in Casecnan, as [it supplies water] for Pantabangan," Ernesto B. Pantangco, EDC executive vice-president, said.
EDC has a 60% equity in the Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric project in Nueva Ecija.

Piltel’s long-suffering public stockholders
[BUSINESSMIRROR]FOR the first time since its listing on July 11, 1995, Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) surprised its public stockholders with P0.52-per share dividend which it distributed starting on March 31. The company’s minority owners, who have suffered for 14 years must have felt elated, were expecting to get more and bigger dividends in the future. They had a basis for such optimism: Piltel has piled up retained earnings of P6.73 billion as of end-2008, which dropped to P3.902 billion as of March 31, as a result of the declaration of cash dividend in the first quarter. The public investors were disappointed for Piltel was not to stay long in the market. After becoming profitable, Manuel V. Pangilinan and his team of directors and managers have decided to take Piltel private again. This means any future earnings will be enjoyed solely by the First Pacific Co. Ltd., an Indonesian-controlled corporation which is based in Hong Kong.

Solid Group looks at mobile handset exports
[BUSINESSMIRROR]PUBLICLY listed Solid Group Inc. said its MyPhone brand of low-cost mobile handsets may soon be exported.
Company president David Lim MyPhone may be distributed soon in Latin America and Papua New Guinea. “We might try exporting in the second half of the year. It is something that we are looking at,” he added. The MyPhone brand of handsets was launched in 2007.
Te company also expects sales of its dual-active SIM (subscriber identification module) handsets, which carries the brand MyPhone, is seen to grow by at least 50,000this year.

Pacific Online set to roll out new terminals
[LOTO]LISTED lotto provider Pacific Online Systems Corp. is optimistic it can post better results this year with the continued rollout of new terminals.
Speaking to reporters after the firm’s shareholders meeting on Monday, chairman Willy Ocier said the company is spending P40 million this year for the roll out of 200 lotto machines. The company already operates 1,600 lotto machines.
He said the firm will also install 100 additional machines for its online Keno games which brought in P3.2 million in rental income last year.