Undeterred by lack of takers, PHL govt raises FTI selling price

Despite a lack of takers in recent years, the Philippine government is bent on selling the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) property in Taguig City — only this time at a higher price.   The Department of Finance is determined to sell the Taguig property this year for more than P8 billion, said Finance Undersecretary for Privatization John Sevilla.   Sevilla said three groups remain interested to bid for the property, but government is still after a negotiated sale with the Ayala Group.   He said the selling price is now definitely higher than the earlier valuation of P7 billion to P8 billion set by the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.   About 103 hectares of the120-hectare agro-industrial and commercial estate was also offered to Robinson’s Land and SM Development Corp., with the National Food Authority retaining 17 hectares.   Built during the regime of then-President Ferdinand Marcos as a food processing and consolidation center for agriculture products, FTI now hosts over 300 small-  and medium-scale enterprises in manufacturing, garments and electronics. — VS, GMA News