DoE: New Malampaya deal opens doors to more projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Department of Energy on Monday identified the renewal of the Malampaya service contract as one of the major accomplishments of the Marcos administration that focus on indigenous energy sources for reliable, stable and affordable electricity supply.

The DOE said in a report the Malampaya’s Service Contract 38 extension until Feb. 22, 2039 is a key indicator of progress in the development of the natural gas industry.

It allows full production of the gas field in northwest Palawan through full utilization of its remaining reserves of about 147 billion cubic feet.

The DOE said this would jump start the exploration and development of other fields in the area which reportedly contain up to 210 billion cubic feet more of natural gas.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. noted in his 2022 State of the Nation Address the “uncertain policy in upstream gas, particularly in the area close to Malampaya.”

Marcos said this required “clarification of the processes and review of service contract policy.”

The government then took the lead in providing investment incentives by approving the sale of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V.’s 45-percent stake in SC 38.

The DOE report said the approval of the Shell shares’ sale to Malampaya Energy XP Pte. Ltd. on Sept. 30, 2022 “resulted in an all-Filipino consortium now operating the Malampaya Deepwater Gas to Power Project, the largest upstream petroleum operations in the country.”

Prime Exploration Ptd. Ltd. led by businessman Enrique Razon Jr. formalized in July 2022 its purchase of MEXP, which had acquired the Shell shares.

Razon’s Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., through subsidiary Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., holds a 45-percent operating stake in the Malampaya gas-to-power project.

The extended SC 38 required the Malampaya consortium to explore the area around Malampaya for new wells.

Megaworld set to open largest PH hotel in Paranaque this year

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PROPERTY developer Megaworld Corp. said Monday it is set to open the Philippines’ largest hotel within the year as it bets on the strong recovery of travel and tourism industry.

Megaworld said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would open before the end of 2023 the 1,530-room Grand Westside Hotel within the 31-hectare Westside City in Entertainment City in Parañaque City.

“Once it opens, Grand Westside Hotel will become the biggest hotel property in our portfolio and in the entire country to date,” said Megaworld Hotels & Resorts managing director Cleofe Albiso.

Grand Westside Hotel will offer a variety of room types and sizes, ranging from queen suites, twin suites and executive suites with up to 48 square meters to twin suites (35 sq. m) and queen suites (37 sq. m.) designed for specially-abled guests.

Grand Westside Hotel will be the 19th hotel property launched by Megaworld and the second homegrown hotel brand to rise inside Westside City.

“It will be just a short drive away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport via the NAIA Expressway and promises to delight guests with wonderful views of the world-famous Manila Bay sunset as well as the skylines of Makati, Manila and Taguig City,” said Albiso.

THE Bank of the Philippine Islands was named the Best Bank in the Philippines and Asia’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility in Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence 2023 for its impressive growth in 2022 and financial literacy programs across the country.

“BPI regains the award as the country’s best bank by posting excellent numbers over the past year. BPI’s net income grew by 65.8 percent to a record of P39.6 billion last year. While its rivals saw a decent jump in net income, BPI’s pace of growth was the fastest,” Euromoney said.

The prestigious international publication noted that BPI’s return on equity grew to 13.14 percent last year from 8.4 percent the year before, while total deposits rose 7.2 percent yearon-year to P2.1 trillion, beating the industry average.

“We are very honored and grateful for these awards because they reaffirm the Bank’s renewed strength and solid performance in delivering best-in-class products and services. They also bolster our commitment to improve the lives of Filipinos through financial literacy programs and inspire us to continue building a better Philippines – one family, one community at a time,” said BPI president and chief executive TG Limcaoco.

Sardines industry enjoys stable power supply of Zamcelco

THE canned sardines industry benefited from the stable electricity supply of Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative Inc. which helped fuel the city’s economic growth.

The city is dubbed as the “sardines capital” as bulk of the country’s sardines and canning factories are located there.

Zamboanga City vice mayor Josephine Pareha said the stable electricity supply from Zamcelco greatly helped the sardines industry and enticed more investors.

Pareha said prior to Zamcelco’s investor management contract with Crown investments Holdings Inc., several hours of power outages resulted in sardines spoilage.

SPROUT’S ACQUISITION. Sprout Solutions, the leading homegrown B2B SaaS company and HR tech leader in the Philippines, finalizes the acquisition of Aiah AI, a pioneering artificial intelligence company with offices based in the Philippines and Singapore. Aiah AI, through its technology, automates recurring business processes to increase productivity among companies and divert its focus to more higher-value activities. Signing the agreement are Sprout Solutions chief executive and co-founder Patrick Gentry (left) and Aiah AI chief executive and co-founder of Gian dela Rama.

It will also be the biggest hotel development in the Philippines in terms of total room keys.

The first tower of Grand Westside Hotel is slated for opening this year, while the second tower will welcome guests by 2024.

Repower Development lists in PSE after raising P1.15b

RENEWABLE energy producer Repower Development Corp. on Monday listed its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange after raising P1.15 billion from an initial public offering.

The stock opened at P5.01 and hit a high of P5.20 before closing at P5.04, up P0.04 from its IPO price of P5.

The company raised P1.15 billion in gross proceeds from the sale of 200 million shares, with an over-allotment option that allowed it to offer another 30 million common shares.

REDC president Eric Peter Roxas said during the listing ceremony the proceeds would enable it to build more renewable plants and enhance shareholder value.

PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon commended REDC for braving the market even as several companies had deferred similar plans because of the current the market conditions.

REDC said it would use the proceeds to

The hotel will have four function rooms which can be combined to form a bigger hall good for events with a capacity of up to 300 people. It will have four dining outlets, including an allday dining restaurant that can accommodate nearly 250 persons.