Gov’t eyes sale of more state assets

The Duterte administration will continue to pursue the sale of some state assets, including publicly listed shares, as part of the Department of Finance’s (DOF) efforts to raise more revenues for the government.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the national government is planning to sell bank assets, state-owned real estate properties, shareholdings in several public companies as well as membership club shares.

Among the assets up for sale that Dominguez identified are the 169.15 hectare Batangas property, the 18 hectare Las Piñas property and the 3.95 hectare lot under the Pilipinas Shell Petroleum.

The finance chief also said the government will sell its shares in Manila Gas Corp., Benguet Corp., Chemphil Industries of the Philippines, Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., and PAL Holdings, Inc.

Dominguez added the government likewise plans dispose its shareholdings in luxury clubs, like Manila Polo Club and Makati Sports Club as well as the state’s two-shares in Puerto Azul Beach in Cavite.

The finance department has also lined up the sale of banks and other assets held by the Central Bank Board of Liquidators (CB-BOL) valued at around R2.1 billion.

Dominguez, meanwhile, said the DOF needs to reappraise the valuation for these government assets, particularly those not publicly listed shares, which may take up to 12 months.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed the government sold R243 million worth of state-assets in January to May, well below the R2-billion target set for this year.

But Finance Undersecretary Grace Karen G. Singson said the DOF is hopeful it will attain its revenue goal for privatization, saying “R2 billion is guaranteed, we'll do more than that probably.”

Dominguez said the Duterte administration raised a total R949 million in revenues from its privatization program since it took office in July last year up to June 2017.

Earlier, the finance chief said the government wanted to unload all assets of Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and pursue the sale of the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

Among the PSALM assets that have been set for privatization are the 850megawatt (MW) Sucat Thermal Power Plant; the 200-MW Mindanao Coal-Fired Thermal Power; and the 982-MW AgusPulangi hydropower complex.

Also included are the 40-MW “security capacity” of the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant (ULGPP) and the bulk capacity of the ULGPP itself.

Dominguez also said the government will sell its 46 owned and controlled casinos operated by Pagcor.