01 Feb 2006
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), the government's power privatization arm, recently reported that local and foreign investors remain supportive of the privatization of the generation assets of the National Power Corporation based on their positive response to PSALM's Investor Preliminary Asset Review Process (IPARP) program.
The IPARP is a process that enables potential bidders to come up with a better assessment of their targeted power plants through site visits and access to plant information in the PSALM Data Room.
As of January this year, 30 local and foreign investors have submitted their Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to PSALM to avail themselves of the IPARP, disclosed PSALM Asset Management and Electricity Trading Group (AMETG) vice president Froilan A. Tampinco.
"Since introducing IPARP in March last year, we've received 13 and 17 EOIs from local and foreign firms, respectively. Six of the foreign investors came from Japan, and five came from the United States. Other participants included four Asian companies and two European firms," he said.
Tampinco also reported that a total of 23 plant site visits have been facilitated by PSALM through the IPARP.
"We are encouraging other prospective bidders to participate in the IPARP to enable them to more effectively assess the plants they want to acquire," said Tampinco, pointing out that the process provides bidders the opportunity to make a more concrete shortlist of the assets they are eyeing.
To participate in the IPARP, interested investors are required to submit a written EOI and execute a Confidentiality Agreement and Undertaking. The participation fee is pegged at a non-refundable $500 for information on one or two power plants, or $1,000 for three or more power plants. Site visits require a separate fee of $1,000 per plant package per visit. The fees may be paid in cash, manager's check or cashier's check.
The IPARP for a particular power plant ends upon the start of its formal bidding process, which is announced through the publication of an Invitation to Bid (ITB).
As of January 2006, there are still 11 plant packages available for the IPARP (See attached table).
Strategic Communications and Partnership Division |