Aboitiz Purchases Geothermal Plants

AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AP), paid today to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) the P8.29 billion downpayment on the purchase price of the 289 MW Tiwi geothermal power plant facility in Albay and the 458 MW Makiling-Banahaw geothermal power plant facility in Laguna (collectively referred to as the “Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities”).

Following the payment, which represents 40% of the purchase price, PSALM is expected to turn over at midnight today the possession and control over the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities. The 60% balance in the purchase price is payable over a period of seven years in fourteen equal semi-annual installments.

APRI won the competitive bid conducted by PSALM for the sale of the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities on July 30, 2008. The Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities have a sustainable capacity of approximately 462 MW

Digitel Aims to Grab Postpaid Lead

Citing significant growth in the number of Sun subscribers, Gokongwei-led Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc (Digitel) expects its mobile unit Sun Cellular to double service revenues and even take the lead in the postpaid segment this year.

Digitel Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Office James L. Go said: "We are expecting that our service revenues in Sun Cellular will incur a 100%
growth year on year, exceeding 2008 growth of 82%".

Mr. Go said Digitel would borrow $200 million to partly fund the $300 million to $350 million in capital expenditures this year, to be allocated for additional cellular sites. "Currently, we already have 4,603 cell sites and we are aiming to build 1,000 cell sites more for our 2G business and additional 300 to 500 sites for our 3G service, Mr. Go added.

Mr. Go said Sun Cellular has a total of 10 million subscribers, with an additional five million to six million subscribers this year.