GT CAPITAL HOLDINGS, Inc. is exploring direct investments in sectors such as healthcare and energy, a company official said.
“We’re primarily a consumption economy, so we’re looking for sectors that most people here in the Philippines look for and at the same time are relatively fragmented so that you don’t have to compete against a major entrenched player,” GT Capital Holdings Chief Financial Officer George S. Uy-Tioco, Jr. said on Money Talks with Cathy Yang on One News on Monday.
He said the company intends to avoid highly regulated industries, pointing out that its investment in Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) already gives it exposure to regulated sectors.
In March, GT Capital announced plans to invest up to $200 million this year to fund expansion in underpenetrated segments.
“The pandemic has basically raised people’s awareness about the need for healthcare and from our perspective we feel that there is an opportunity to play a role there,” Mr. Uy-Tioco said, adding that the company is actively exploring opportunities in the healthcare sector.
“The other sector that we know is in great demand is energy. So, the demand for energy is very high. So, that is another sector we think could be an interesting area to invest in,” he added.
Mr. Uy-Tioco also said the company will not be affected by Moody’s downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, noting that GT Capital has no outstanding dollar-denominated debt.
“The typical reaction of markets when there’s a downgrade in ratings is typically to have an increase in the cost of borrowing, but it still remains to be seen. For corporates, I cannot speak for others but we ourselves do not hold dollar-denominated debt,” he said. Most of the company’s debt is peso-denominated, he added.
GT Capital’s attributable net income rose by 28.55% to P9.14 billion in the first quarter from P7.11 billion in the same period last year. Consolidated revenues increased by 21.16% to P89.78 billion from P74.1 billion previously.
GT Capital is a listed holding company with interests in banking, property development, infrastructure and utilities, automotive manufacturing and distribution, financing, and life and nonlife insurance.
On Monday, shares in GT Capital rose by P5 or 0.91% to close at P543 apiece.
GT Capital holds a stake in Pangilinan-led MPIC, one of the three main Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., along with Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose