Biz Buzz: ‘Supercelestial egos’

Three of the country’s top tycoons converged on a secret location last Friday to sign a $3.3-billion power alliance involving the “most expansive” gas-fired power project in the country.

The meeting and agreement signing among Manuel V. Pangilinan, Ramon S. Ang and Sabin M. Aboitiz was hosted in the house in posh Dasmariñas Village of none other than tycoon Eric O. Recto.

Pangilinan said they required a neutral location for the landmark event and essentially invited themselves to Recto’s house.

The deal has yet to be finalized among Meralco PowerGen Corp., Aboitiz Power Corp. and San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. but Pangilinan said the groups were working together well considering the unique mix of strong personalities.

“All of us have big egos right? Supercelestial egos,” Pangilinan quipped.

“The divorce contracts [of the agreement] are more numerous than the marriage clauses,” he added.

Because of their ongoing talks for a toll road merger, Pangilinan said discussions initially involved himself and Ang. They eventually decided the alliance needed another partner to succeed.

“During the course of time, we decided to invite the Aboitiz Group and, as they say, the rest is history,” he said.

As businessmen, the parties are motivated by profit but this was also about helping the country meet the vast demand for power.

“There’s a lot of goodwill underpinning our getting together, so I hope it continues,” Pangilinan said.

“If we can maintain that transcendent goal of serving this country, it should work out,” he added. —Miguel R. Camus

Probing hot supercars

We’ve all heard about the two rare Bugatti Chiron supercars seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at two Ayala Alabang homes in February.

And as the investigation into alleged luxury vehicle smuggling continues, Ayala Alabang Village Association (AAVA) had to clarify its role—lest some people question its policy on issuance of vehicle stickers.In a newsletter to homeowners, AAVA reported that the surrendered Bugatti cars, one red and one blue (worth a combined P330 million), had been surrendered from two separate properties within the upscale village in February.

AAVA said that upon verifying valid Land Transportation Office registration documents presented for the red Bugatti in December 2023, it had followed the procedure to issue a sticker for the vehicle. The car was listed as a secondary purchase.

But the AAVA pointed out that “import record verification falls under the BOC’s jurisdiction rather than their own.”

“AAVA continues to fully cooperate with the ongoing BOC investigation while affirming its commitment to maintaining security and adhering to proper regulations. AAVA is continuously working with the national and local government agencies in light of this incident,” it said. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla