News Briefs - Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Portugal

Brazil - Canada's Brookfield and Spain's Abertis invest in Obrascon

The Globe and Mail reports that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and Spain's Abertis have formed a joint venture (49/51) to buy a 60% shareholding in Obrascon Huarte Lain Brasil SA.  The price for the consortium is around US$1.72 billion, and the consortium is willing to purchase the remaining 40% if required.  Canadian Business reports:

OHL Brasil is one of the largest owners and operators of toll road concessions in Brazil with more than 3,200 kilometres of roads in states that account for approximately 65 per cent of Brazil's gross domestic product and are home to nearly two-thirds of the country's 70 million vehicles.

The deal means that Obrascon's Spanish shareholders, Obrascon Holdings Ltd, acquire 10% of the stock of Abertis (it already has 5%) raising its shareholding to 15%.  Obrascon effectively maintaining an indirect interest in the Brazilian toll road business.  OHL Brasil has nine toll road concessions.

 

China - public holidays to be toll free

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Chinese Government has announced that cars should be able to drive toll-free on public holidays.  This includes all privately owned toll roads.   The measure is designed as a popularity move as car ownership soars, but most car trips are relatively localised as car owners baulk at paying tolls to travel long distances.  The report says:

Moody’s says the decision will knock up to 5% off toll income this year at Shenzhen International Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed operator of 17 Chinese toll roads.

What will be curious is whether it results in congestion on those days, and whether it will impact on the viability of some future projects.  Another report implied that this was a politically driven move, designed to win favour with the growing middle-upper classes, indicating that regardless China's one-party system, the government is sensitive to public opinion given the ease by which people can express concern or dissent via the internet.
 

India - Taj Mahal toll road opens

I don't typically report on the opening of toll roads, because there would be far too many to report.  However, this report from travel website Wanderlust caught my eye as it is about a new toll road from Delhi to Agra, effectively connecting the capital to the Taj Mahal.  The private expressway is 165km long, six-lanes wide, cost US$2.17 billion to build and the toll is around US$9 as it halves travel time on the route.

 Indonesia - Jasa Marga buys part of PT Translingkar Kita Jaya

The Jakarta Post reports that Indonesia's large state owned toll road company, Jasa Marga, has bought a 21.24% shareholding in private toll road consortium PT Translingkar Kita Jaya for the equivalent of US$14.6 million (Rp137.9 billion).  The company operates the 14.64km Cinere–Jagorawi toll road which is divided into three sections. The first section is 3.7 km from Jagorawi to Raya Bogor, the second is 5.5 km from Raya Bogor to Kukusan, and the third is 5.4 km from Kukusan to Cinere.  The first section is operational, the second to open later this month and the third in May 2013.  33,215 a day are expected on the road by the end of 2012, growing to 47,816 in 2014.

"The acquisition of Translingkar is a part of the company’s plan to maintain sustainable business expansion,” Jasa Marga said in a written statement.

The report notes that Jasa Marga operates 545km of toll roads in Indonesia, estimated to rise to 738km by 2014.

It continues by saying:

The company explained that Indonesia’s toll road development is lagging behind neighboring countries such as Malaysia, which currently has around 4,000 kilometers of toll roads. Meanwhile, Indonesia — the largest economy in Southeast Asia — only has around 750 kilometers of toll roads.

No doubt this is in part due to the fact Indonesia is an archipelago, although the bulk of economic activity is on Java, the main island which has the majority (60%) of the national population (and congestion).

Philippines - Metro Pacific Tollways to be delisted, minority shareholders bought out

Business Mirror (Philippines) reports that  Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) is to delist its subsidiary Metro Pacific Tollways. It intends to do so by the end of the year because only 0.15% of Metro Pacific Tollways is floated, a proportion considered inadequate by the Philippine Stock Exchange.  The Stock Exchange has warned companies with less than 10% floatation that it would suspend trading in their stocks from 2013 before compulsorily delisting them.  MPIC intends to buy out the minority shareholders, which at current market prices would only come to around US$1.2 million.  MPIC Chief Financial Officer David Nicol said the strategy would then be to consider strategic partners to invest in Metro Pacific Tollways. 

Metro Pacific may generate considerable interest given the roads it owns and the concessions it has rights to, given the prospects for potential growth in Philippines as its roads are significantly superior to the untolled alternatives.

Portugal - Abertis sells its shareholding of Brisa to Tagus

Following a report in July that Abertis no longer considers its investment in Portuguese toll road operator Brisa, as strategic, Bloomberg now reports that Tagus has acquired that stake (15% of the operator).  Tagus’s partners are family-owned holding company Jose de Mello SGPS SA and London-based Arcus Infrastructure Partners LLP, and already own a combined 49.6% of equity in Brisa, but 53.8% of the voting rights. Bloomberg seems to indicate that Tagus is seeking to raise its stakeholding to 90% so it can delist Brisa.

The report says that :

The disposal of Abertis’s entire stake in Brisa will generate 312 million euros ($386 million) in cash flow.

Tagus, a venture formed by Brisa’s two biggest shareholders, offered 2.76 euros a share in July .

This followed an offer in March 2012 of 2.66 Euros per share, and Abertis noting a distinct lack of interest in buying the shareholding, no doubt reflecting concerns over Brisa's exposure to Portuguese toll roads in the current recessionary climate in that country.   Abertis appears to have decided to take what it can as it effectively exits the Portuguese toll road market.   The Tagus bid compares to a share price of currently 2.09 Euros following the deal.

Tagus noted that it wasn't obliged to buy more shares after the deal with Abertis, so that many shareholders now indicate that they think there are unlikely to be any significant buyers for the Abertis shares now that Tagus has 85% of the shares in Brisa.