THE METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC) said it is currently finalizing its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) as it prepares to bid for a major project in Indonesia.

“It is too early because we are still in the process of valuation between us and San Miguel (San Miguel Corp.) and whether they will accept to include Indonesia, so things will change definitely in the next few months,” Rogelio L. Singson, president and chief executive officer of MPTC, said on the sidelines of a briefing last week.

The company has reaffirmed its target to be listed by 2025 as it is still awaiting certain approvals from its Indonesian operations.

“Our Indonesian [project] is also moving because we just bidded for a huge project there, so things will definitely change and maybe in the next few weeks there will be developments there. If that happens, we will have bigger operations in Indonesia than here in terms of daily traffic,” he said. 

The company bid for a 676-kilometer major concession agreement project in Indonesia, Mr. Singson said.

Last year, MPTC said it needed to raise about $600 million to secure its bid to invest in the Indonesian toll road operator PT Jasa Marga Tbk’s Transjawa Tol.

MPTC has said that the company, along with Singapore’s GIC, is jointly bidding to acquire a portion of the Trans-Java toll road in Indonesia, which operates toll road networks covering a distance of 676 kilometers.

For the year, the company has set a capital expenditure of P28 billion to fund its projects, Mr. Singson said.

Last year, MPTC decided to defer its IPO to 2025, citing the company’s intention to weigh its options in line with a plan to form a joint venture company with San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

“I think so, conservatively because we’re going through evaluation and you can imagine the approval process, “ he said when asked if MPTC’s IPO plans will push through in 2025.

“It is not going to be easy, that is why we are saying the easier thing to do since we are already talking is why don’t we look at specific projects?,” Mr. Singson added. 

The company is in talks with SMC for the possibility of merging some projects as it would be easier and faster to implement, he noted.

MPTC is the tollways unit of MPIC, one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

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