Month: January 2010

Ayala Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) have executed a letter-agreement confirming their interest in participating in the privatization of the 246 MW Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, which is subject of the bidding process initiated by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).

Ayala and MPIC have agreed to participate in the bidding through Michigan Power, Inc. (MPI), a subsidiary of Ayala that submitted a letter of interest to PSALM in relation to the bidding. MPI will be owned by Ayala and MPIC, subject to allocation of required equity to a technical partner in accordance with the bidding procedures.

This initiative is in line with Ayala’s desire to participate in the power sector, especially in the realm of clean and renewable energy.

The above statement is based on the disclosure made today to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange by Ayala general counsel and compliance officer Solomon M. Hermosura.

Eighty-one college students from all over the Philippines will gather in Alfonso, Cavite, from February 9 to 12, to take part in the 12th National Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC). The annual summit engages young leaders in three days of dialogues, teambuilding, and vision-setting in the spirit of servant leadership.

With the theme, “Ako: Pagbabago!” this year’s AYLC will formally open on February 10 with a keynote address by CNN Hero of the Year and founder of Dynamic Teen Company, Efren Peñaflorida.

Over the course of AYLC, participants will interact with leaders from the business, government, and socio-civic sectors as well as from the field of the arts and media. Speakers include South Cotabato Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes, Manila Water Company president Rene Almendras, YouthVotePhilippines convenor Jaime Garchitorena, Probe Productions president Che-Che Lazaro, RockEd Philippines founder Gang Badoy, and AYLC alumni Edward Nino Puyod of Philippine Greenfarm Development Corporation, Coun. Concon Hernandez of Lipa City, and Lesley Cordero of the USAID Energy and Clean Air Project. Facilitators include McCann Erickson Philippines chairman emeritus Emily Abrera, Prof. Solita Monsod, and ABS-CBN host Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan.

Congress participants were chosen for their strong track record of service to their school or community and for demonstrating leadership qualities. Key officers in the Ayala group of companies led by Ayala Corporation chairman emeritus Jaime Zobel de Ayala, chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, and president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, helped select the young leaders by way of panel interviews. Of the 81 participants, 44 percent are from Luzon, 26 percent from the Visayas, 11 percent from Mindanao, and 19 percent from the National Capital Region. This year’s summit is the first time that a seminary and the Philippine National Police Academy are sending delegates.

“We in the Ayala group of companies believe that leadership—one that is founded on integrity and service—leads to positive change for those whom leaders serve and for society at large. The Ayala Young Leaders Congress aims to highlight the tremendous impact that each of these young Filipinos can make, and more importantly, the change we can all make by working together,” says John Philip Orbeta, Ayala managing director for corporate resources and AYLC program director.

Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) was awarded the Best Large-Capitalization Corporate in the Philippines for 2009, among companies having a market capitalization of over $2 billion, by Asiamoney magazine. The magazine also named ALI president Antonino T. Aquino as the Best Executive in the Philippines in its recent poll.

“We are honored and very grateful for the recognition given by such a prestigious publication as Asiamoney. We have put great effort into overcoming challenges in 2009 and these awards validate the success of those efforts,” said Aquino.

Asiamoney is a monthly financial magazine that has been an important source of intelligence and information for corporate executives and the investment community in Asia since 1989. It is a division of the Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc, a respected global media group.

In an article published on the magazine’s website, ALI was cited for taking “a strategic change of direction” and expanding into the economic housing segment in order to broaden the company’s market penetration. According to the article: “It is a move that makes sense as the bulk of the country’s real estate demand lies in this segment…”

Asiamoney also recognized Aquino for his work in implementing the strategic changes, after just eight months at the helm, to propel the company’s growth in the coming years. “The president of Ayala Land has wasted no time in changing its strategic focus, making it more effective and sensitive to the market,” said the article.

Aside from venturing into economic housing, the company is entering into new geographies and expanding its base of master-planned and mixed use growth centers. It will complement this with small-format retail developments.

Recent initiatives along these pursuits include its partnership with the National Housing Authority for the development of the 29-hectare North Triangle property in Quezon City. ALI also entered into a letter of agreement with the city government of Olongapo and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to master-plan the seven-hectare Olongapo City Triangle near the Subic Bay Freeport Zone’s main gate. (ALI press statement)