Philippine PLDT to Reduce Overspend by $860 Million Through Cancelled Projects

PLDT Inc. is in talks with suppliers and vendors to cancel some projects and seek discounts in order to reduce its 48-billion peso ($860 million) spending overrun. This is in line with the company's goal to become more efficient and cut costs.

PLDT has announced that it is considering cancelling certain projects and replacing them with new ones that will improve revenue growth and customer experience. The company made the announcement in a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

PLDT shares recovered some lost ground on Tuesday, climbing 2.6%. This comes after the company's record 19% drop on Dec. 19. Earlier in the day, PLDT disclosed that Chairman Manuel Pangilinan and President Alfredo Panlilio had bought shares on the day of the plunge.

PLDT is being investigated by the stock exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission after announcing on Dec. 16 that it exceeded its four-year capital outlays by 48 billion pesos, raising concerns over corporate governance and fiscal controls at the nearly 100-year-old company. This investigation comes at a time when PLDT has one of the largest capitalization among Philippine firms.

Last week, the company announced that its review of the situation showed that there was no fraud, no anomalies, no evidence of overpricing, and no unrecorded transactions in relation to the overrun. PLDT Chairman Pangilinan said that there would be no write-off of assets purchased with the bulk of the overspend, which included 5G cell sites for its mobile network.

PLDT has confirmed that it will be booking previously unreported spending from this year and next, which could extend to 2024 if there are delays. This information was included in a stock exchange filing in response to reports from the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The bourse had asked PLDT to clarify the situation.

Ramon Monzon, President of the Philippine Stock Exchange, said in an interview on December 22 that the exchange had asked PLDT to clarify its announcement that it had not uncovered any anomalies, overpricing, or unrecorded transactions. PLDT's own review of the matter is still ongoing.

The company said in a statement to the exchange on Tuesday that its "forensic investigation is still ongoing." So far, no fraudulent transaction, procurement anomaly, or loss has been identified or uncovered.