Henry Sy tops Philippines' 40 richest: Forbes

By David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 06/23/2011 9:02 AM | Updated as of 06/23/2011 1:44 PM

 

MANILA, Philippines - Eighty-six-year-old mall magnate Henry Sy remains the richest man in the Philippines while port operator Enrique Razon Jr. joined the elite billionaires' list this year, according to the annual listing conducted by Forbes Magazine.

The annual listing said the country's 40 richest men are now worth a collective $34 billion, up from last year's $22.8 billion. Forbes said a 27% uptick in the stock exchange's composite index lifted the fortunes of the country’s richest to an all time high.

It said there are now 11 billionaires in the Philippines this year, compared to only 5 last year. Forbes compiles the list based on information from individuals, stock exchanges, public documents and analysts as well as estimates of the privately held assets of the businessmen. The minimum net worth to make the list this year increased to $85 million, up from $50 million previously.

For the fourth year in a row, Sy remained the Philippines' richest man with a net worth of $7.2 billion,  up from $5 billion last year. Forbes said shares in SM Investments, the Sy family's largest asset, is up nearly 40%. Sy's listed property developer Belle Corp. is expected to open its first casino in Manila in 2012.

Second on the list is tycoon Lucio Tan with an estimated $2.8 billion in assets, up from $2.1 billion in 2010. The 77-year-old tycoon owns a bevy of businesses which include Fortune Tobacco, Asia Brewery, and Hong-Kong based Eton Properties.

Third on the list is JG Summit founder John Gokongwei Jr.  The 83-year-old is worth $2.4 billion, up from his net worth last year of $1.5 billion.

Fourth on the list is Alliance Global Group's Andrew Tan with an estimated net worth of $2 billion from last year's $1.2 billion. 

Fifth on the list is 90-year-old construction manage David Consunji, who has an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion from last year's $715 million.

"He moved into top 5 as shares of his DMCI Holdings more than doubled in past year.

Value of Semirara Mining nearly tripled," Forbes said.

Below is the Philippines billionaires list:
1. Henry Sy    $7.2 billion
2. Lucio Tan    $2.8 billion
3. John Gokongwei Jr.    $2.4 billion
4. Andrew Tan        $2 billion
5. David Consunji     $1.9 billion
6. Jaime Zobel de Ayala    $1.7 billion
7. Enrique Razon Jr.     $1.6 billion
8. Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.    $1.4 billion
9. Roberto Ongpin    $1.3 billion
10. George Ty        $1.1 billion
11. Tony Tan Caktiong    $1 billion

ICTSI's Razon now a billionaire
Forbes said the biggest gainer in percentage terms is former trade minister Roberto Ongpin, whose fortune soared more than fourfold to $1.3 billion. Forbes said most of that gain was thanks to an increase in his stake in listed miner Atok-Big Wedge, "though Ongpin says the company’s stock  price overinflates its value."

Another newly minted billionaire is port operator Enrique Razon Jr., who saw his  net worth jump to $1.6 billion from $975 million last year. His International Container Terminal Service (ICTSI) has bought controlling stakes in two terminal ports, one in India's Tamil Nadu and one in Croatia. His private company, Bloomberry, also put $350 million into a hotel complex in Manila's Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City.

Mang Inasal founder joins PH's richest
Forbes, meanwhile, listed 4 newcomers to the richest list. They are: Jose Antonio, founder of  high-end property developer Century Properties; Jacinto Ng  Sr., founder of biscuit maker Rebisco; and 34-year-old Edgar  Sia II, founder of Mang Inasal

Mang Inasal is now the country's third largest fastfood chain, after Jollibee and Chowking. Last year, Jollibee purchased a 70% stake of Mang Inasal for $68 million, catapulting Sia's net worth to $85 million. He is ranked 40th in the Forbes list of richest Filipinos, and is the youngest in the list.

Four from 2010 list didn’t  make the cut, including Lourdes Montinola, whose family owns 41% of Far Eastern University; and Jesus Tambunting,  who controls Planters Development Bank. Forbes said their gains couldn’t  match the stellar performance of others on the list.

The remaining names in the Philippines' 40 richest list are as follows:
12. Inigo and Mercedes Zobel     $980 million
13. Emilio Yap            $930 million
14. Andrew Gotianun        $795 million
15. Jon Ramon Aboitiz        $760 million
16. Beatrice Campos        $685 million
17. Manuel Villar             $620 million
18. Vivian Que Azcona        $555 million
19. Robert Coyiuto Jr.        $400 million
20. Mariano Tan            $375 million
21. Alfonso Yuchengco        $370 million
22.  Enrique Aboitiz        $310 million
23. Oscar Lopez            $280 million
24. Jose Antonio            $245 million
25. Eric Recto            $200 million
26. Gilberto Duavit        $190 million
27. Menardo Jimenez         $185 million
28. Alfredo Ramos        $180 million
29. Betty Ang             $165 million
30. Felipe Gozon            $163 million
31. Tomas Alcantara        $160 million
32. Benjamin Romualdez        $155 million
33. Wilfred Uytengsu Jr.        $150 million
34. Manuel Zamora Jr.         $145 million
35. Jacinto Ng Sr.        $115 million
36. Frederick Dy            $110 million
37. Luis Virata             $100 million
38. Bienvenido Tantoco Sr.    $95 million
39. Eugenio Lopez III        $90 million
40. Edgar Sia II            $85 million.

 

Philex climbs most in 6 months on Atlas speculation

by Coco Alcuaz, ANC

Posted at 06/25/2011 1:11 AM | Updated as of 06/25/2011 1:11 AM

 

MANILA, Philippines - Manuel Pangilinan's Philex Mining Corp. climbed the most in 9 months after the Philippine Star reported speculation that it would buy into Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp.

Philex, the nation's biggest miner by sales, rose more than 9 percent, the most since October, closing at P23.30.

Atlas, which lost P429 million last year, climbed 20 percent in the first 4 days of the week, before getting a voluntary suspension yesterday and Monday.

It then disclosed it would sell a third of itself for $390 million dollars to what it called "targeted investors."

The funds would be used to buy out its partners in Carmen Copper Corp. for $368 million.

Several fund managers and brokers pointed to Pangilinan and two overseas groups. The Pangilinan group didn't reply when asked if that was them.

Atlas Vice President Adrian Ramos said the investors had not been finalized. Atlas has scheduled a briefing for Monday afternoon.

Big names
Just last month, Philex agreed to take up to 60 percent of Manila Mining's Kalayaan project in Surigao del Sur.

It also bought 5 percent of Manila Mining parent Lepanto Consolidated. These were just the latest acquisitions for Pangilinan.

Earlier this year, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., where he’s chairman, agreed to buy Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. from tycoon John Gokongwei.

Carmen returned to profit last year, earning P429 million compared with a P1.66 billion loss, as rising copper prices and a 60 percent increase in production almost doubled revenue. As well, the unit cut interest expense by refinancing a $100 million loan.

The refinancing came from tycoon Henry Sy's Banco de Oro, which is also arranging the Atlas transactions announced yesterday.

Atlas itself last year converted $36.5 million of loans to equity. Banco de Oro made up $25 million of that.

CebuPac buys $3.8-B planes

Thursday, 16 June 2011 21:10 Lenie Lectura / Reporter

CEBU Air Inc. has placed firm orders for 37 new Airbus units with a total list price of about $3.8 billion, or roughly P165.4 billion, making it the largest single aircraft order ever made by a Philippine carrier.

The low-cost carrier is going to use internal funds and tap loans from export-credit agencies to finance the payment for its orders.

“We will be using the same financing sources for our current fleet. We will try not to take in more than we can absorb, and we expect to fully fund the predelivery payments through the old means that we have, which are internal cash flow, access to export credit- agency financing and commercial lending market,” Lance Gokongwei, airline president, said at a press conference on Thursday.

The orders are composed of seven A320s and 30 A321neo aircraft, with options for a further 10 A321neos. The orders will be delivered between 2015 and 2021. These are on top of firm orders for 18 Airbus A320s to be delivered from the second half of 2011 until 2014. This increases Cebu Pacific’s total firm orders of Airbus to 55.

The airline currently utilizes 33 brand-new aircraft, 25 of which are from the Airbus A320 family and eight ATR turbo-prop aircraft. By 2021, it will more than double its fleet and triple its capacity.

Gokongwei said the new fleet will be used to mount flights to new destinations such as Australia, India and northern Japan—places which the A320s cannot reach.

The new fleet will help the company save on fuel cost by about 15 percent and reduce its unit cost per passenger, which will redound to lower fares.

“The new aircraft provides us savings in two ways. First, on the use of fuel alone, we get 15-percent savings. The second benefit is that we are ordering a larger plane, which means more capacity,” he said. Fuel covers more than 60 percent of Cebu Pacific’s operating cost.

The airline is making this investment amid the rising cost of fuel in the world market and uncertainty in the aviation sector.  

“We do believe that the Philippines’ tourism agenda will add fuel to [Cebu Pacific’s] growth,” said Gokongwei. “The years 2009 and 2010 were record-breaking years for Cebu Pacific. In 2011 we intend to fully break our record further in terms of passengers carried and revenue.”

In 2010 the airline carried 10.5 million passengers. Gokongwei said Cebu Pacific intends to carry more than 12 million this year. 

“The general trend in the industry is that the load factors are staying quite constant—mid- to high-80s. I would say that there is a little bit of pressure given the amount of new capacity. Overall we expect profitability this year below than last year but we expect to be one of the few airlines in the world that will remain solidly profitable despite the high fuel prices,” Gokongwei said.

According to Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific is the third-largest low-cost carrier in Asia. The largest is Air Asia of Malaysia, followed by an Indonesian carrier. “Cebu Pacific is definitely larger than Tiger Air,” he added.

Cebu Pacific will be the first airline in the country to operate the A321neo, which is a larger and longer-haul version of an A320 unit. “There is very high demand for this aircraft. We expect our regional competitors will be making the same orders,” Gokongwei said.

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In Photo: Lance Gokongwei (right), president and CEO of Cebu Air Inc., smiles during a news conference on Thursday. (AP)

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