BIZ BUZZ: Caltex brand seen to stay

Even as Japanese refiner Eneos Holdings Inc. enters the local scene through a $2.17-billion deal with Chevron Corp., Caltex will remain its face card in the Philippine market.

“Eneos has said that the Caltex brand is an exceptionally important business asset, so they are very likely to retain and expand the brand in the Philippines,” Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp., told Biz Buzz.

The analyst even said Eneos could cash in on the strong presence of Caltex to market its products here.

Chevron carries the Caltex brand of fuels and lubricants in the Philippines, with nearly 600 stations nationwide.

“Built and nurtured by Chevron over many decades … we are fully committed not only to preserving its value, but to elevating it further,” Miyata Tomohide, CEO of Eneos Holdings, earlier said.

Eneos recently pursued share purchase agreements with various indirect subsidiaries of Chevron, covering the acquisition of the latter’s downstream fuels and lubricants businesses in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The pact also includes Chevron’s 50-percent interest in the Singapore Refining Co., marking Eneos’ first entry into Asia’s refining market outside Japan, which it currently dominates.