Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said they are hoping to sell the 24 percent shares in San Miguel Corp. worth P50-56 billion by November this year.

“We want this accomplished soon (but) we’re still waiting for the Supreme Court decision,” Teves told reporters. The government has deferred the San Miguel privatization for several years because it was mired in legal issues.

The first break came in 2004 when the Sandiganbayan ruled that the shares held by the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) are owned by the government. Still, privatization had to wait a couple of years more until the appeals process has been completed.

Government’s stake in San Miguel is composed of 446.45 million SMC-A shares and 307.396 million SMC-B shares. The CIIF shares were part of the 47 percent government-sequestered shares in San Miguel seized in 1986. About 20 percent is owned by incumbent San Miguel chair Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. “ shares that the government tried to claim but lost.

Teves said he is optimistic that the Supreme Court will approve the sale of the shares soon so they could put it on the block by November.

“There are two stages -- one is the swap of the preferred shares with the common and then later on the subsequent sale,” he said. “We’re hoping the Supreme Court will decide in favor of the Philippine government owning the shares so we can sell the 24 percent on or before November.”

The conversion of preferred shares is subject to a lock-up period but Teves said in the case of the government’s share swap, the Supreme Court can remove this restriction. “There are provisions that can be disposed of anytime the Supreme Court has made a decision and we’re given the authority to sell,” he explained.

In 2007, the Arroyo administration tried to speed up the sale of its stake in San Miguel after the conglomerate decided to spin-off its beer and packaging business. At the time, the sale of the CIIF-held government shares was also made urgent by credit ratings downgrade in the wake of the San Miguel Group’s reorganization.

The government has been working on an amicable settlement with the CIIF parties consisting of various coconut farmers’ groups and coconut industry associations to settle the case that has spanned almost two decades.