URC stock offering set Feb.

Food manufacturing company Universal Robina Corp. (URC) has scheduled for next month a stock offering covering as much as 730 million shares, the company said in a note to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday. The final offer price, to be determined Feb. 6 and announced the following day, will fall within a range of plus or minus 10 percent from the prevailing market price of Universal Robina shares. The stock closed Friday at P128.75. A trading halt will be imposed on the stock in the seven days after the final offer price is determined. The company has set aside 634.78 million new and existing shares for the public offering, out of which 95 percent will be allotted to foreign investors, while the remaining will be sold to the domestic market. It has also set aside 95.21 million common shares as an over-allotment option. UBS Investment Bank) has been appointed as underwriter for the offering. Universal Robina will hold an international roadshow and bookbuilding for the stock offering from Jan. 24 to Feb. 6. Shares sold through the stock offering will be listed on the stock exchange Feb. 14. Universal Robina, a unit of tycoon John Gokongwei’s holding concern JG Summit Holdings Inc., will use the proceeds from the stock offer to fund its expansion and boost share liquidity.

NFA tenders new rice import

National Food Authority (NFA) said it had set a tender for Feb. 7 to buy 400,000 tons of rice for arrival between February and May. The fresh grain requirement would bring to 750,000 tons the total volume of rice the government will import in the first half. The Philippines bought 350,000 tons of rice, mostly from Vietnamese companies, in December. The shipment is scheduled for delivery between January and March. "For 2006, we expect rice imports not to exceed the total 1.8 million tons that we bought in 2005," NFA Administrator Gregorio Tan told Reuters by telephone. He said the Philippine rice harvest in the first six months of the year was expected to be higher by 5 to 6 percent from the same period a year earlier because of better weather conditions. Most of the rice crop in the first half of 2005 was damaged by a drought caused by the El Niño dry weather pattern. The NFA, the rice-importing arm of the government, said in a noticer that rice in the February tender should be sourced from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Australia or the United States.

ALI sees 15% net profit rise

Ayala Land Inc. will likely see its net profit grow 15 percent this year, with a subsidiary that builds low-cost houses contributing to the improvement, JP Morgan said. In a note to clients, JP Morgan said it is keeping its "overweight" rating for Ayala Land as the stock trades close to a 15 percent discount to its 2006 net asset value estimate. A unit of the property firm, Avida Land Corp, has said it plans to start two to three new projects every year to address demand for affordable housing. Its prices range from P500,000 to P2.5 million per home. The subsidiary also intends to open more offices overseas to boost sales to Filipinos working abroad. Sales to such people accounted for 25 percent of Avida’s sales last year. "We see the secular trend of growing overseas Filipino workers’ remittances as particularly beneficial to the property sector," JP Morgan said. Remittances this year are expected to reach a record high of .5 billion, 10 percent more than last year, the central bank has said. "The growing efficiency of remittance centers abroad also bodes well for property sales in the country as remittances can now be streamed directly towards the purchase of homes," JP Morgan added. Ayala Land has yet to report its net profit for last year. In the first nine months of the past year, its net profit rose 46 percent year-onyear to P2.6 billion on the back of 35 percent growth in revenues to P16.5 billion.

PSB notes rated PRS Aa

Philippine Savings Bank’s proposed P2 billion Tier 2 issue has been rated PRS Aa plus by the Philippine Ratings Services Corporation. The unsecured subordinated debt or Tier-2 issue will have a maximum term of 10 years with a call provision after five years. In assigning the rating, Philratings considered PS Bank’s market position as one of the leading players in the attractive consumer banking sector, solid support from parent Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, synergies realized from being part of the Metrobank group, and management’s focused vision and coherent strategy. Philratings also took into account PSBank’s strong core earnings, its good asset quality, sound funding base, and acceptable capitalization level. prevailing market and economic conditions.

Cocoplans trust fund hits P1-B mark

Cocoplans, two-time awardee for Most Outstanding Pre-Need Plans Provider, reported it reached the R1-billion mark for its accumulated Pension and Education Plans trust fund amounts. In a report from the company’s trustee bank, United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), Cocoplans posted a total trust fund balance of P1,054,687,194.77 in its Trust Fund Account as of November 30, 2005. For which, P875,286,999.23 is for Pension and P179,400,195.54 is for Education. The report further stated that the funds are free from lien, restriction, condition or holdout. Planholders also gets the advantage of Cocoplans’ triple protection with Cocolife as its insurance underwriter, the UCPB as its trustee bank, and of course, Cocoplans itself. Cocoplans has 150 million unimpaired capital stock, double the amount that the Securities and Exchange Commission requires. Cocoplans President Caesar T. Michelena said that the company’s growing trust fund is a clear indication that indeed, the company’s planholders are 100 percent assured that they will be given their due benefits on the day promised. "Our company regards the investments of our planholders very seriously. That is why we prepare three months in advance for the maturing plans," he said.

Colgate sells detergent business

SAN FRANCISCO (XFN-Asia) — Colgate-Palmolive Co said it has sold its Southeast Asian heavy-duty laundry detergent brands to Procter & Gamble Co. Colgate said the Procter & Gamble transaction, touching brands marketed in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, includes the sale of Fab, Trojan, Dynamo and Paic. Because of the sale, two detergent dedicated factories will be closed or modified, Colgate said. Colgate said it expects the one-time net gain resulting from the Dec 31 transaction will be fully offset by fourth-quarter restructuring charges under the company’s 2004 plan. Further financial terms were not disclosed. "This sale is part of Colgate’s ongoing strategy to de-emphasize and eliminate low-margin portions of the business while focusing on our high-margin, fast-growing oral, personal and pet care businesses," Reuben Mark, Colgate’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. Simplifying the company’s portfolio will increase gross profit margin in the Asia/African division and will enable increased focus on the other businesses, he said.

ADB okays 0-M China loan

BEIJING (XFN-Asia) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has approved a 0 million loan for wastewater treatment and water quality improvement in the Hai river basin in central China’s province of Henan. The loan will fund construction of facilities to collect and treat wastewater and to deliver clean water to 15 cities around the highly polluted Hai river basin, the ADB said in a statement. The project will also promote institutional and financial reforms and enhanced management, the ADB added. The Hai river basin, one of the three most polluted river systems in China, has been severely affected by domestic and industrial wastewater, the ADB said. Environmental infrastructure has failed to keep up with the region’s rapidly growing economy, and only 34 percent of urban wastewater in the area is being treated, despite water shortages. The project will build sewers, pump stations and treatment centers to increase collection and treatment of urban wastewater to more than 70 percent, the ADB said. The total project cost is about 0 million, half of which will be met by the ADB loan. Local bank co-financing will provide .2 million and central and local government funds will be used for the remaining .8 million. The project should be finished by the end of 2010, the bank said.

TAIPEI (XFN-Asia) — Over eighty percent of Taiwan’s manufacturers that invested abroad last year put their money in China, a government survey shows. Of all manufacturers who invested overseas in 2005, 81.18 percent chose China as a destination, up from 72.90 percent in 2002, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA). Respondents were allowed to make multiple choices in the survey as their investments might be in more than one location, the MoEA said. In 2005, some 17.01 percent of outbound manufacturers invested in the US, little changed from 17.14 percent in 2002. Another 15.42 percent invested in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, down from 18.62 percent three years earlier.