PH gov't to sell Semirara shares, Mile Long, other assets

The Marcos administration has listed several government properties and assets it plans to sell to ramp up the state’s revenues.

“We needed to scout for new [funding] sources without inflicting new taxes … considering the two-year period of high inflation we experienced before,” Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Domini Velasquez said at the Management Association of the Philippines’ (MAP) General Membership Meeting in Taguig City on Wednesday.

Among the initiatives being undertaken by the Finance Department to increase or beef up non-tax revenues was “through the sale of some of the idle assets we have in the government,” Velasquez said.

“These idle assets will not only generate revenues for the government but will also increase the value of these assets that have been lying around in Metro Manila for example…We are offering a range of these valuable assets for investments in the next few years,” she said.

Among the government assets for disposal were the Star City property, shares in Semirara Mining Corporation, Mile Long Building, shares in United Coconut Chemicals Inc., Elorde Sports, and Tourism Development Corp., and condominium units in the Atrium compound in Makati City.

The Department of Finance listed six government assets which are up for disposal or privatization. DOF Undersecretary Domini Velasquez said tue government is targeting to raise P42 billion this year from privatization. pic.twitter.com/5AJfLAls0q

— Ted Cordero (@Ted_Cordero) September 25, 2024

“So, for this year, we initially programmed around P42 billion. For next year, around P100 billion. So, that's going to be part of our non-tax revenues,” the DOF official said.

Velasquez said the government has about 145 million shares in Semirara Corp. which could be up for disposal.

The sale of government shares in the Consunji-led firm is expected to be “within the next year.”

For the planned sale of the Star City property, the DOF earlier said it expects about P15 billion in revenues. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/916623/star-city-property-eyed-for-sale-p15b-in-revenues-expected-for-gov-t-dof/story/

Velasquez, however, reiterated that the property is still tied to the Sukuk bonds and that a replacement asset should be determined first before the government can proceed with selling the land where Star City sits.

The Mile Long building, which is a property of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), is also being considered for sale.

In August 2017, the government won a case against the Prieto-Rufino clan-led Sunvar Realty Development Corp., forcing the latter and its tenants to vacate the property.

Velasquez said that some of the government assets being considered for privatization are changing titles under a “directive ensuring that some of the [land] titles… should be named [under] the Republic of the Philippines so that they can be up for privatization.”

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto earlier said the government is eyeing to double its non-tax collections to P400 billion this year, in line with his pronouncement that there were no plans to impose additional new taxes throughout the remaining years of the administration.