MPIC seeks long-term contract to manage Cardinal Santos Medical Center

MANILA, Philippines- Listed Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the local unit of Hong Kong conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd., on Friday disclosed that it is seeking to be the long-term operator of Catholic Church-run Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC). In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MPIC said subsidiary Medical Doctors Inc. has "formally participated as one of the interested parties in RCAM's (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila) selection process to be the long term operator of CSMC." MDI, which is 33.45-percent owned by MPIC, has been chosen as the interim operator of CSMC for a period of six months which started in August. MDI is also the owner and operator of the Makati Medical Center, which is now in its second year of its facilities improvement program. The upgrade of MMC's facilities was funded by the issuance of subordinated convertible notes amounting to P961 million and internal cash resources. The expansion will have two phases- the construction of an eight-level Annex building plus a five-level basement parking facility too finish in December 2008 and the renovation of the existing 39-year-old nine-floor hospital building to be completed in 2011. The conglomerate is also the single largest shareholder of the Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH) following its issuance of 34-percent capital for the DDH in May 2008 amounting to P498 million. The 39-year-old medical facility is embarking on a P250-million capital expenditure that "aims to align the medical center along the ranks of the best hospitals in Manila." "A substantial part of the budget will be earmarked to purchase and upgrade medical instruments and equipment to enhance the hospital's range of services," MPIC said. DDH is also studying the possibility of building an additional 100 doctor's clinics, renovate its existing 200 rooms and build parking areas to accommodate at least 700 cars. Company officials said MPIC will announce its third-quarter results on November 13. For the first six months of the year, the company reported that its net income reached P361.5 million, a 1-percent improvement from the restated P359.1-million profit. MPIC has also earlier acquired 67 percent of Manila North Tollways Corp., the operator of the North Luzon Expressway. It is also part of the consortium which owns Maynilad Water Services Inc., which supplies water to Metro Manila’s west zone. GMANews.TV