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MACROASIA Corp. announced that it took out a loan to finance its
expansion in Clark Airport and nickel exploration in Palawan.
In a disclosure, the parent company of
Philippine Airlines (PAL), told the local bourse that it signed a
P450-million term loan facility with First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC)
on April 17. The loan will serve as a standby credit that MacroAsia
will use to finance its aviation and mining activities.
Two months ago, the company and the Clark
International Airport Corp. (CIAC) announced that they will
establish an integrated aviation service area within a 30-hectare
lot to serve the aviation requirements of Lufthansa Technik
Philippines (LTP). LTP is a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik
AG of Germany and MacroAsia, which owns about 49 percent of the
venture.
The project, which can be expanded to 50
hectares, will also service PAL and other client airlines of the
Lucio Tan group that would set up operations in the former American
base. The project will initially require both parties to shell out
$50 million to $100 million.
The project is expected to be finished within
the next five years and upon completion, the area would have
in-flight catering facility, ground handling unit, aircraft
maintenance and repair facility, cargo warehouse, and technical
training and airline operations offices to serve the requirements of
local and foreign carriers.
MacroAsia is also exploring in a 1,114-hectare
mining tenement in biodiversity-rich Brooke’s Point, Palawan and
signed on London-listed Toledo Mining Corp last year to help develop
the nickel project. Both firms are conducting feasibility studies on
their adjacent nickel projects sites. MacroAsia holds exclusive
rights to explore and develop nickel, chromite, iron and other
mineral deposits in the area.
The two firms also plan to build a nickel
smelting and refinery plant within MacroAsia property after
exploration in the area yields positive results. The plant would
allow the company to process its minerals and sell these at a higher
value.
Before operation of the smelting and refinery
plant, MacroAsia may have to directly ship its nickel ore to
Australia, China and Japan when it starts production by the end of
this year.
Plans for spinning off MacroAsia’s mining arm
are not yet concrete and remains one of the options for raising
funds through an initial public sale of its shares. The company has
earmarked P50 million in seed money for its mining venture, which
would mainly come from internally generated funds.
-- Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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