File photo of Bank of America. No less than BSP Deputy Gov. Nestor Espenilla has confirmed that BoFA, the second biggest US bank, is further scaling down its Philippine operations, reducing the Manilla branch to "servicing loans." AFP FILE
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
The online news portal of TV5
There is another anecdotal evidence that the P40-billion mystery buyout offer for the lesser half of the Ortigas real estate holding company may already be a done deal.
The clan's Francisco Ortigas Securities Inc. has informed its employees about the stock brokerage having to undergo "restructuring," management-speak for lay-offs, by year-end.
According to the Ortigas chatter, the brokerage's management consultant, Jaime Ortigas, has scheduled a staff meeting by mid-November to discuss the details of the putative restructuring.
The planned staff meeting comes a week after the November 8 deadline for the P40 billion buy-out offer for the 40-percent bloc, the so-called Fernando Ortigas bloc, within the private Ortigas holdings company OCLP Holdings Inc.
A day before the deadline, the board of OCLP Holdings Inc. is also scheduled to meet and discuss the P40-billion offer, with the bigger half of the Ortigas clan, the 47-percent bloc allied with Ignacio Ortigas, giving no indication that their side would exercise their right of first refusal over the lesser half controlled by their cousins.
In any case, there is reportedly a previous memorandum of understanding agreed upon by the two Ortigas blocs, along with their respective competing principals SM and Ayala groups, on how to break the impasse beforeNovember 8 by using a time-tested template.
The template? He who offers the most money wins.
Despite the cloak of secrecy between the two Ortigas clans, one crucial detail has emerged about the identity of the little-known bidder for the Fernando bloc.
Preeminent Global Holdings Limited, despite being an alleged British Virgin Island shell company, is supposed to be controlled by Filipinos.
"We were advised that PGHL, given its shareholdings, is considered a Philippine national under Philippine law," said Puno and Puno, counsel of ex-Ambassador Francisco "Paqui" Ortigas III, who is allied with the selling Fernando Ortigas bloc.
Managed by ex-talk show host Ricardo Puno Jr., the law firm furnished the clarification to Michael David Abundo III, corporate secretary of OCLP Holdings Inc.
SM Prime Holdings, meanwhile, told the Philippine Stock Exchange that taipan Henry Sy's real estate conglomerate "is not related in any way to Preeminent Global Holdings" amid an earlier report in this space that the principal of the mystery P40-billion buyer was the SM Group.
A check with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week showed that no Preeminent Global Holdings was listed among the SEC's roster of registered companies or even filed under the reserved company names.
Going back to the brokerage, the stock trader itself reported having lost P21 million in 2012, largely on account of having to write off P23 million in unsecured and interest-free advances it had given to an unidentified stockholder.
The year before, the brokerage made P131 million profit, ironically not through stock market trading, but on the sale of its investment in explosives manufacturer Orica Philippines.
BofA slims further away
The Bank of America is not only shutting down its contact center in the Philippines, but its banking operations have also been severely been limited apparently for some time now.
This confirmation was made by no less than Deputy Bangko Sentral Nestor Espenilla Jr. before a Management Association of the Philippines forum last week.
Espenilla, who is in charge of banking supervision, said the BofA Manila branch had been reduced to "servicing loans," when asked by an MAP member about the status of the US bank in Manila.
BofA's country manager, Henry Pelaez, could not be reached for comment, having gone on leave ahead of the long Halloween weekend.
The second biggest US bank, BofA started operations in war-ravaged Manila in 1947, one of the only four foreign banks with retail and full-branch operations in the country until the partial foreign liberalization under the Ramos administration allowed the entry of 10 more foreign banks.
The North Carolina-based bank earlier announced the closure by year-end of its non-bank subsidiary in Taguig, BA Continuum, which provided back-office, customer and technological support to divisions such as mortgage banking and insurance.
Heard through the grapevine
A planeload of travelers originating from Manila have chartered a Philippine Airlines Airbus A340-300 to transport them to Myanmar onNovember 9, with a two-day stopover in Beijing on the outbound leg of the five-day trip.
E-mail: cocktales_tv5@yahoo.com
The clan's Francisco Ortigas Securities Inc. has informed its employees about the stock brokerage having to undergo "restructuring," management-speak for lay-offs, by year-end.
According to the Ortigas chatter, the brokerage's management consultant, Jaime Ortigas, has scheduled a staff meeting by mid-November to discuss the details of the putative restructuring.
The planned staff meeting comes a week after the November 8 deadline for the P40 billion buy-out offer for the 40-percent bloc, the so-called Fernando Ortigas bloc, within the private Ortigas holdings company OCLP Holdings Inc.
A day before the deadline, the board of OCLP Holdings Inc. is also scheduled to meet and discuss the P40-billion offer, with the bigger half of the Ortigas clan, the 47-percent bloc allied with Ignacio Ortigas, giving no indication that their side would exercise their right of first refusal over the lesser half controlled by their cousins.
In any case, there is reportedly a previous memorandum of understanding agreed upon by the two Ortigas blocs, along with their respective competing principals SM and Ayala groups, on how to break the impasse beforeNovember 8 by using a time-tested template.
The template? He who offers the most money wins.
Despite the cloak of secrecy between the two Ortigas clans, one crucial detail has emerged about the identity of the little-known bidder for the Fernando bloc.
Preeminent Global Holdings Limited, despite being an alleged British Virgin Island shell company, is supposed to be controlled by Filipinos.
"We were advised that PGHL, given its shareholdings, is considered a Philippine national under Philippine law," said Puno and Puno, counsel of ex-Ambassador Francisco "Paqui" Ortigas III, who is allied with the selling Fernando Ortigas bloc.
Managed by ex-talk show host Ricardo Puno Jr., the law firm furnished the clarification to Michael David Abundo III, corporate secretary of OCLP Holdings Inc.
SM Prime Holdings, meanwhile, told the Philippine Stock Exchange that taipan Henry Sy's real estate conglomerate "is not related in any way to Preeminent Global Holdings" amid an earlier report in this space that the principal of the mystery P40-billion buyer was the SM Group.
A check with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week showed that no Preeminent Global Holdings was listed among the SEC's roster of registered companies or even filed under the reserved company names.
Going back to the brokerage, the stock trader itself reported having lost P21 million in 2012, largely on account of having to write off P23 million in unsecured and interest-free advances it had given to an unidentified stockholder.
The year before, the brokerage made P131 million profit, ironically not through stock market trading, but on the sale of its investment in explosives manufacturer Orica Philippines.
BofA slims further away
The Bank of America is not only shutting down its contact center in the Philippines, but its banking operations have also been severely been limited apparently for some time now.
This confirmation was made by no less than Deputy Bangko Sentral Nestor Espenilla Jr. before a Management Association of the Philippines forum last week.
Espenilla, who is in charge of banking supervision, said the BofA Manila branch had been reduced to "servicing loans," when asked by an MAP member about the status of the US bank in Manila.
BofA's country manager, Henry Pelaez, could not be reached for comment, having gone on leave ahead of the long Halloween weekend.
The second biggest US bank, BofA started operations in war-ravaged Manila in 1947, one of the only four foreign banks with retail and full-branch operations in the country until the partial foreign liberalization under the Ramos administration allowed the entry of 10 more foreign banks.
The North Carolina-based bank earlier announced the closure by year-end of its non-bank subsidiary in Taguig, BA Continuum, which provided back-office, customer and technological support to divisions such as mortgage banking and insurance.
Heard through the grapevine
A planeload of travelers originating from Manila have chartered a Philippine Airlines Airbus A340-300 to transport them to Myanmar onNovember 9, with a two-day stopover in Beijing on the outbound leg of the five-day trip.
E-mail: cocktales_tv5@yahoo.com
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