PBCom stake divestment unlikely

Seeks to sell of major stake as existing shareholders are not eager to contribute additional capital.

The sale of a major stake in the Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) is not likely to push through before yearend, the bank’s president said last week.

In an interview last Friday, PBCom President Roman Anthony V. Azanza, Jr. said he does not expect the sale to be completed by yearend as regulators are still evaluating the two banks that have expressed interest in buying the stake.

“I doubt [if a sale can be concluded by yearend]. It’s already October so I doubt it,” he said.

He declined to give an expected date for the completion of the transaction, citing there was no deadline.

“I don’t want to give a date or a timetable because, sometimes it’s misconstrued as a deadline and there’s really no deadline, self-imposed or by regulation,” he said.

In an interview with reporters in July, Mr. Azanza said the bank was aiming to complete the sale by the end of the year.

View the full story in Business World.