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By Zinnia B. dela Peña
APC Group,
Inc., a listed holding company controlled by leisure and gaming firm Belle
Corp., aims to become one of the major players in the power and mining
industries in the next few years.
APC president Willy Ocier said the company is
hoping to capitalize on the resurgent minerals and metals sector, expects to do
exploration work on Service Contract 48, an oil and gas find located in the
Cagayan Valley, next month or as soon as studies have been completed.
Ocier said
the company is setting aside $2.5 million in the next two years for S.C. #48. The service area is around 748,000 hectares.
“We want to
become a serious player in the energy and mining industry. We’ll be here for the long haul. The mining sector is seen as a catalyst for
growth,” Ocier said.
He said a
number of foreign mining firms had expressed interest to join APC in several
mining ventures. Negotiations are
ongoing pending due diligence studies on the company’s mining claims.
“We can’t
finalize a deal without first knowing what we have,” Ocier said.
Ocier said
the company is still bent on disposing its cash-strapped telecommunications
unit Philippine Global Communications, Inc. to allow it to focus on the energy
resource exploration and pursue mining activities.
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