PLDT firm on REIT listing plan for Vitro data center unit

Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. on Thursday is firm on its plan to list its data center business, under Vitro Inc., on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) through a real estate investment trust (REIT) route.

This as executives of the Pangilinan-led telco ruled out disposing its majority stake in its data center business as the company needs fresh funds to settle maturing debt.

Danny Yu, PLDT chief finance officer, said ceding majority shareholdings in Vitro is “non-negotiable right now.”

This was echoed by Vitro president Victor Genuino.

“It’s clear for us that if we want to take this route of monetizing our asset, selling it to an interested third party for a majority is not going to happen,” said Genuino. 

“We want to keep control of our assets because we think this is going to be a catalyst for growth,” he added.

PLDT’s asset monetizing initiative comes as it needs to settle at least P16.6 billion in debt maturing this year and another P27.9 billion in 2027.

“We’re really taking a look at the new SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) rules what classifies as new real estate invent trust in relation to data centers. It is for us to understand the rules are in how to properly engage in such an option,” Genuino said.

“The way the REIT rules apply similar to real estates, you can list mature assets, which means that from our nine data centers, what we can list data centers [for] REITs that have been operational for more than three years,” he added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News