The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it has approved the joint venture between Pasay Harbor City Corp. and the City Government of Pasay for a 265-hectare land reclamation in the city.
The transaction marks the first merger review by PCC involving a local government unit as a party to the joint venture.
Under the arrangement, the Pasay City local government allotted rights to reclaim its municipal waters, while Pasay Harbor City will fully finance all raw land reclamation works and expenses.
The PCC said its merger review found the transaction will not likely “lead to substantial lessening of competition in the relevant market.”
PCC noted that the reclaimed area will create a new market for commercial and residential real estate in Pasay City.
Pasay Harbor City is a partnership composed of Udenna Development Corp., Ulticon Builders Inc. and China Harbour Engineering Co. It submitted its venture as an unsolicited proposal to develop a part of Manila Bay within Pasay City’s domain.
PCC, the country’s anti-trust body, is mandated under the Philippine Competition Act to review mergers and acquisitions to ensure that these deals will not harm the interest of consumers.
To date, PCC has received 196 merger transactions by local and international companies, approved 184 of them and blocked one anti-competitive merger. The transactions have reached a combined worth of P3.21 trillion in terms of transaction value.
