Jul. 16-- THE property unit of Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage conglomerate will have the first crack at buying the new shares Bank of Commerce will be selling.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel Properties Inc. (SMPI) said that it would exercise its pre-emptive rights over the additional share issuance of Bank of Commerce.

The property firm said it is subscribing to over four million shares at P173.54 apiece for a total P694 Million.

The SMPI board has also authorized the company to increase its stake in the bank to 40 percent in the event that the other shareholders would not exercise their pre-emptive rights, the disclosure read.

SMPI, together with San Miguel Corp.'s (SMC) retirement fund, acquired a 51-percent stake in Bank of Commerce after infusing an additional P2 billion in May. So far, the San Miguel group has already invested P4 billion in the bank.

Ramon Ang, SMC president, earlier said he sees opportunities for the lender to work cooperatively with other new businesses of the conglomerate.

"We see potential projects we can pursue with Petron [Corp.]. There's a fit between retail banking and Petron's retail network of over 1500 service stations," Ang said.

He said this is part of the three strategic priorities for the bank.

In addition, SMC also plans to boost the bank's current customer base, while strengthening its capital position in the industry.

"There are a lot more banking services that the Bank of Commerce can provide San Miguel, but we need to invest and upgrade the bank's IT systems, management capability and branch locations to make the bank more responsive and compatible to our business needs," Ang said.

After buying into the bank last year, San Miguel said it has worked with the management in providing its parent's banking services, like cash management and payroll servicing.

The bank currently finances the working capital requirements of dealers and suppliers of SMC.

Last year, the bank's total deposits stood at P78 billion and is seen to grow by 41 percent to P110 billion this year due to the synergy with the San Miguel group.

The bank sees its loan portfolio increasing by 12.5 percent to P45 billion this year from P40 billion last year. The bank's assets stood at P97 billion as end-2008.

From 117 branches, the bank also plans to add 20 branches this year to expand its foothold on the middle-market niche.

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