To and from Cojuangco town

In terms of business focus, it seems amiss for Cojuangco-chaired San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to be interested in a sizable stake in the proposed 88-km toll road that will extend the North Luzon Expressway from Mabalacat, Pampanga, all the way to La Union, coursing through the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. But then, other than the potential revenues from the project, on the political front, it also makes sense for SMC chairman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. to favor the tollway investment. After all, it improves access to and from his own bailiwick of Tarlac, and is expected to also pass his son Mark’s legislative district in Pangasinan.

Moreover, providing for better infrastructure to and from Central Luzon and onward to Northern Luzon can actually help broaden San Miguel’s market and improve access to it. In terms of logistics and transportation, having better roads will make it easier for goods and people to go around.

At the rate San Miguel is investing in business other than its core of food and beverage, it is quite likely the Cojuangco-chaired company will soon be truly diversified as a global business conglomerate.

Locally, San Miguel is also into power through distributor Manila Electric Co.; telecommunications via Liberty Telecoms; oil refining and retailing through Petron Corp. It has also reportedly expressed interest in the potable water source development project in Laiban Dam in Tanay, Rizal.

Abroad, San Miguel has been reportedly offered by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. a stake in PT Adaro Energy, an Indonesia-based integrated coal mining and trading company.

Why toll roads? In San Miguel’s case, to sell its consumer goods, it doesn’t necessarily have to own the roads going to its market particularly in North Luzon. But in terms of additional revenue source, a toll road is a massive cash generator daily. And this makes the possible investment in the Tarlac-La Union highway very interesting. If San Miguel is just sitting on cash anyway, then it might as well invest in a toll road.

The Tarlac-La Union Expressway involves the construction of an 88.5-km, four-lane expressway from La Paz, Tarlac, to Rosario, La Union. Construction reportedly started in September and is targeted for completion in 2012. Of the total project cost, 57 percent or P8.59 billion will be financed through loans, and 24 percent or P3.68 billion from equity. The remaining 19 percent, about P2.91 billion, will be provided by the government in the form of a subsidy.

One news report quoted Isidro Consunji, president of DMCI Holdings, as saying that San Miguel was already doing a due diligence on the road project. “I think SMC is interested in getting 49 percent, with an option to go up to 51 percent,” he said. Consunji’s company leads the consortium of local private contractors offering to build the expressway.

An interesting twist in this tale is a possible competition to San Miguel, courtesy of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which recently completed its purchase of a controlling stake in Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) from the Lopez group for P12.2 billion. Through an older firm, Metro Pacific’s Manny Pangilinan is already associated with the Metro Manila Skyway project. But the latest acquisition from the Lopez group invariably makes his group the undisputed biggest toll roads operator in the country.

MNTC was a gem of a purchase. It was previously granted the contract to build, operate and maintain the 83.7-km North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the 8.5-km Subic-Tipo Expressway; and to build and operate the proposed link of C-5 to the Manila Port Area that will cross the Nlex near the Valenzuela interchange.

Also, with the purchase, Metro Pacific gained the right to participate in the operation of the SCTEx segment that directly links Subic Bay Freeport and the Clark Economic Zone; as well as participate in the concession to build the Tarlac-La Union Expressway.

Just recently, San Miguel already won over Pangilinan’s group in bidding for a substantial stake in the Lopezes’ Manila Electric Co. And this might just prompt San Miguel’s way to leave the toll roads business to new toll road king Manny Pangilinan.

The Tarlac-La Union Expressway project may yet be a strategic piece of the Pangilinan initiative. For sure, it will complement Metro Pacific’s control of toll roads in Central and Northern Luzon. Moreover, it will also complement Pangilinan’s reported interest in bidding for the planned $3-billion high-speed rail project that will connect the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Parañaque City.

As noted by Victor Jose Luciano, Clark International Airport Corp. president and CEO, Pangilinan’s advantage is his ability to provide the right of way for the proposed high-speed rail from Caloocan City to Magallanes in Makati City. And with this right of way, he says, Naia can finally be connected to Clark. As for the right of way from Caloocan City to Clark, the matter is nearly settled, he adds.

One can only hope that Pangilinan seriously considers building the proposed railway. But in case he changes his mind, maybe San Miguel can consider the same. After all, its benefits to the economy can be tremendous. And a new public-private partnership on a major infrastructure project such as this is also a good way to pump-prime a struggling economy.

Marvin A. Tort is a veteran business journalist. He is a former Managing Editor of BusinessWorld and also a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council. He is presently into various businesses including gaming and IT, as well as advertising, and business and communication consulting. He also writes a twice-weekly column for the BusinessMirror.