Philippines PLDT in Talks With Vendors, Not Seeking US Law Firms

PLDT Inc. said it is in discussions with four major vendors for equipment and assets covered by its 48-billion peso ($859 million) overspending that stretched over four years from 2019.

While the Philippines’ biggest phone company didn’t specify the nature of its discussions with the firms, namely Cisco Systems Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Ericsson and Fiberhome Telecom, in its filing to the stock exchange Wednesday, it said Tuesday that it’s in talks with suppliers and vendors to cancel some projects and seek discounts as it aims to reduce its spending overrun.

PLDT also denied reaching out to U.S. law firms that had expressed interest in investigating possible violations of U.S. federal securities laws.

The company’s American Depositary Receipts tumbled nearly 24% on Dec. 19, the first trading day after PLDT’s Dec. 16 disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange of the previously unreported spending.

“While PLDT has seen reports that certain U.S. law firms are investigating potential claims on behalf of investors of PLDT for alleged violations of securities laws — as is common when issuers disclose certain events — PLDT is not engaging with such law firms and has retained U.S. counsel to defend against any suits that may be filed,” the company said in a separate statement to the bourse.

The nearly 100-year-old company, among Philippine firms with the biggest market capitalization, is under investigation by the bourse and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about the overspending and the trading activity in the shares just before PLDT announced it.

The company also said it “remains committed to transparency and will continue to release timely official statements and disclosures that are based on fact.”

PLDT, which counts Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd. and Japan’s NTT Docomo Inc. as shareholders, said last week an ongoing review of what happened showed there was “no fraud, no anomalies, no evidence of overpricing, and no unrecorded transactions in relation to the overrun.” PLDT Chairman Manuel Pangilinan said there will be no write-off of assets purchased with the bulk of the overspend that included 5G cell sites for its mobile network.

PLDT shares rose 4% to close at 1,313 pesos on Wednesday in Manila, gaining some lost ground after sliding by a record 19% on Dec. 19.

Manolo Serapio Jr. reports for Bloomberg News.

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