程阳: 菲律宾拟10亿美元出售娱乐场专营权

Manila to study US$10b offer for casino franchise 

Tue, Aug 10, 2010

AFP 

MANILA - Philippine President Benigno Aquino said yesterday his government would study a US$10 billion offer from a local tycoon to take over the government's monopoly casino franchise with Malaysian help.

Ramon Ang, vice-chairman of food and beverage giant San Miguel, made the stunning offer unofficially in an interview with the mass circulation Philippine Daily Inquirer, which carried his comments on its front page.

'It is a proposal, it is a very interesting proposal. But at the same time we have to study the matter first,' Mr Aquino told reporters.

'(We) have to ensure that if we intend to sell something, it is at the best price we can get.' Mr Aquino, who began his six-year term as president on June 30, has said he is looking at privatising state assets to help deal with a growing budget deficit, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) could be sold off.

'The sale of Pagcor fits in well with the president's agenda. Why wait for six years to have US$10 billion when you can have US$10 billion in just six months,' Mr Ang said, according to the Inquirer.

'Isn't this a spectacular deal?' Mr Ang said he intended to make a formal bid to acquire Pagcor once it was formally put on the auction block for privatisation, the Inquirer reported.

He said he intended to go into partnership with Malaysian magnates Robert Kuok, Ananda Krishnan and Francis Yeoh, according to the report.

'They are all my friends and they are interested in Pagcor,' the Inquirer quoted him as saying. Mr Ang emphasised that he intended to go after Pagcor independently of San Miguel, one of South-east Asia's leading conglomerates.

A spokesman for Pagcor, Jay Santiago, said privatisation would not occur anytime soon. 'It is not as simple as it sounds. Eventually, there will be privatisation, but that is too far off,' Mr Santiago said.

'(But) we agree that US$10 billion is a good benchmark. If and when we do go through that process, at least we know we will not be getting anything below US$10 billion.' Pagcor, which operates 41 casinos, reported a net income of 29.62 billion pesos (S$884 million) in 2008.

菲总统考虑10亿美元 出售政府赌场专营权

（2010-08-10）

　　菲律宾总统阿基诺昨天表示，政府将会慎重考虑当地一名大亨欲连同马来西亚商业巨头，以10亿美元接管菲政府赌场专营权的提议。

　　刚在6月30日走马上任的阿基诺先前曾表示，为了应付不断增长的预算赤字，他正考虑将一些国营企业私有化，这就包括了出售垄断菲律宾赌场专营权的菲律宾娱乐和博彩公司（Pagcor）。

　　当地主要英文报章《每日问询者报》昨天就在封面刊登了一篇与当地食品和饮料巨头生力集团副主席蔡启文所做的访问，指他开价10亿美元，要买下菲娱乐和博彩公司。

　　阿基诺在接受记者访问时说：“这只是个提议，但是个非常有趣的提议。不过与此同时，我们必须仔细研究这件事。如果我们真的要卖掉国营企业，必须确保我们取得最好的价格。”

　　据《每日问询者报》报道，一旦菲娱乐和博彩公司确定会私营化，蔡启文就会在拍卖会上正式提议收购该公司。

　　蔡启文说：“出售菲娱乐和博彩公司正好配合总统的议程。如果你可以在短短6个月内得到10亿美元，那又何必苦等6年呢？”

　　据了解，蔡启文有意与马来西亚商业巨头郭鹤年、克里斯南和杨肃斌等人合作，竞标菲娱乐和博彩公司的经营权。他说：“他们都是我的朋友，而他们都对这家公司非常感兴趣。”

　　蔡启文强调，收购这家公司纯属他的个人计划，不会牵涉到生力集团。

　　该公司一名发言人表示，公司私营化一事不会在短期内发生。他说：“这并不像所说的那样简单。我们最终会转向私营化，可是那是很遥远的事。（不过）我们同意，10亿美元是个很好的基准价。如果我们真的私营化，我们知道获得的数目至少不会少于10亿美元。”

　　菲律宾娱乐和博彩公司旗下拥有41家赌场，单是2008年的收入就有6亿4000万美元。