MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) may not have been the worst performer in the week ended May 23. But it was the big casualty among the main index stocks, having piled up a four-week loss of 21.47 percent on a government-takeover threat instigated by Winston Garcia, president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

Garcia owns only one Meralco share but is using the shares owned by GSIS in pursuing his proposal to dismantle the company into several units and sell these to investors. He did not name any of his potential buyers.

Taking a heavy toll from Garcia’s continued media blitz against the Lopez-led management, Meralco closed on Friday at P64 for a week’s loss of 7.91 percent, ahead of the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday.  It had value turnover of P503.102 million during the week, of which P181.106 million was net foreign selling.

Two other stocks, which, like Meralco, are controlled by the Lopezes, were also among last week’s biggest losers. First Philippine Infrastructure Inc., formerly City Resources Corp. was No. 1 in the list of 30 worst performers collated by the Philippine Stock Exchange It ended the week down 29.81 percent at P3.65, compared with its last trade on April 28 when it peaked at its P5.50 opening and closed at its low of P5.20.

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. was No. 5 on its close of P19.50, down 11.36 percent for the week. It was scheduled to hold its annual stockholders’ meeting but postponed it to be able to send out notices and definitive information statements to its stockholders, according to lawyer Enrique Quiason, who signed the filing as assistant corporate secretary. The company did not give a new date for the meeting.

Big gainers

Philex Mining Corp. was the biggest winner among the market’s blue chips and the most active of the week’s biggest gainers.  It was No. 26 in the top 30 list on its close of P7.30, for a five-day gain of 7.35 percent. In the last four weeks, it had risen 12.31 percent.

Another mining stock, Benguet Corp. B, surged 20.69 percent to end Friday’s session at P35 with the week’s value turnover of P308,000. In the last four weeks, it has climbed 22.81 percent.

The market monitor prepared by the PSE’s research team showed Aries Prime Resources Inc. at the top, but with value turnover of only P138,000. It traded throughout the session on Friday at P4 for a 98.02-percent gain from P2.02 on May 9. Rarely traded, it saw movement in only four sessions last week.

SMART Communications Inc. will soon offer new 3G (third-generation) services that involve more complex applications following the grant of additional frequencies to the cellular firm. Smart, to date, has cornered a total of 25 Megahertz (MHz) of frequency spectrum.

Clothing firm wages war vs Harvard

A LOCAL clothing manufacturer has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to nullify the ruling of the Office of the Director General of the Intellectual Property Office (ODG-IPO) canceling its registration for the exclusive use of “Harvard” mark for clothing, footwear and headgear.

LIBERTY Telecom Holdings Inc. (LTHI) and its subsidiaries— Liberty Broadcasting Network Inc. (LBNI) and Skyphone Logistics Inc.—on Friday asked the Makati Regional Trial Court to erase from the court records the motion to terminate the ongoing rehabilitation proceedings and to allow its liquidation, saying the motion filed by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is a “mere scrap of paper” and its allegations are “baseless.”

LISTED Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) is spending P900 million this year to fund the expansion of its flour-milling and feed and swine production businesses.

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) may not have been the worst performer in the week ended May 23. But it was the big casualty among the main index stocks, having piled up a four-week loss of 21.47 percent on a government-takeover threat instigated by Winston Garcia, president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

THE Lopez Group has said as much about the insistence of substantial stockholder Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for major changes in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to bring down the price of electricity in Metro Manila.