Benpres to sell stakes in units to settle $400M in debt

Benpres Holdings Corp. will be selling its stakes several subsidiaries in order to pay off $400 million in loans, an official said Thursday. Angel Ong, Benpres president and COO told reporters at the sidelines of its annual stockholders meeting that the company is planning to dispose 24.5 percent in Rockwell Land, 33 percent in Manila North Tollways Corp., and some shares in Sky Cable. Ong said it may sell its stake in Rockwell Land through the stock market in time with the property unit's planned initial public offering. The MNTC stake may also be sold through the market as Benpres Holds it through First Philippine Infrastructure, a company which underwent backdoor listing early in the year via City Resources Philippines Corp. The steady appreciation of the peso against the dollar, and the low interest rate environment, Ong said, put the company in a better position to restructure its loans. "But this will still depend on the outcome of the negotiations with the creditors," Ong said. - GMANews.TV