Further Vietnam expansion on MPTC radar

METRO PACIFIC TOLLWAYS Corp. (MPTC) said it is weighing opportunities to expand its toll road assets in Vietnam.

“Vietnam is a different story. In Vietnam, we were getting dividends. If somebody makes us an offer for an asset that is attractive for us, we will acquire it,” MPTC President and Chief Executive Officer Gilbert F. Santa Maria told reporters on the sidelines of an event last week.

He said the company is not investing in Vietnam at present as it continues to receive dividend streams from its existing toll operations there.

“We will continue to look at what Vietnam plans are,” he added.

MPTC, the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), has operations in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Its Vietnam presence is through affiliate CII Bridges and Roads Investment Joint Stock Co. (CII B&R), in which it holds a 45% stake.

Earlier this year, CII B&R said it was working on the expansion of the nearly $1.6-billion Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway, a project covering about 96 kilometers and seen as key to improving transport connectivity in southern Vietnam.

The company has also expressed interest in bidding for four infrastructure projects in Vietnam valued at a combined $1.65 billion.

In Indonesia, MPTC and its partners have likewise pursued expansion. In November, the company said it was advancing plans to build an elevated toll road along the Jakarta Outer Ring Road, with the project currently in the financial proposal stage.

In 2024, MPTC, together with its subsidiaries and Singapore’s GIC Pte. Ltd., finalized a $1-billion investment cooperation for the acquisition of a 35% stake in PT Jasamarga Transjawa Tol (JTT), a major toll road operator in Indonesia. PT Nusantara Infrastructure, which owns infrastructure concessions in both western and eastern Indonesia, operates businesses across transportation, toll roads, communications, and distribution networks.

MPTC earlier raised P20 billion via fixed-rate bonds to fund infrastructure work and manage its growing debt. It intends to allocate net proceeds from the offering to partially finance investments in the construction and maintenance of the Manila-Cavite Expressway, Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), and Lapu-Lapu Expressway (LLEX), as well as to refinance bridge facilities and support other corporate purposes.

The company is working to reduce its P200-billion net debt.

MPIC is one of the three key Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., along with Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

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