Port tycoon Enrique Razon is venturing into power generation and water development and distribution.
The Philippine Competition Commission has given its nod to the planned joint venture of San Lorenzo Ruiz Piat Energy and Razon-led Prime Metro Power Holdings Inc. to construct several hydropower facilities.
The PCC said in a ruling the proposed joint venture between the two parties would not result in substantial reduction of competition in the market.
San Lorenzo and Prime Metro plan to form a joint venture company that will construct and establish hydro facilities to supply power distributors and end-users in Luzon.
The joint venture company’s primary asset will be an area covered by the Chico hydropower service contract in Tabuk, Kalinga province.
San Lorenzo is the assignee and the holder of the Tabuk service contract issued by the Department of Energy.
With the partnership, San Lorenzo will contribute the Chico hydropower contract in exchange for an 18 percent stake in the soon-to-be-formed joint venture company.
Prime Metro will be in charge of raising funding once it finishes the legal, commercial and financial viability of the hydro project and due diligence within one year.
Prime Metro will own a 82-percent interest in the joint venture company.
The PCC also gave the green light to the proposed joint venture of Prime Metro and San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers Group to build water facilities along Wawa River in Rodriguez, Rizal province.
San Lorenzo and Prime Metro are forming a joint venture company that will build facilities to capture and divert water for municipal use from the Wawa River to provide either raw or treated water to distributors and consumers in Metro Manila and surrounding communities.
San Lorenzo is the holder of a permit for 3,480 liters per second of water from Wawa River. It will contribute the water permit in exchange for an 18-percent stake in the joint venture company.
Prime Metro, meanwhile, has proposed to invest in and assume an 82 percent stake in the joint venture company.
Razon, who has been ranked as third richest man in the country by Forbes Asia with net worth of $3.5 billion, owns International Container Terminal Services Inc. and gaming firm Bloomberry Resorts Corp.