PAL HOLDINGS, Inc., operator of flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), has named billionaire Lucio C. Tan as its president.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, PAL Holdings said Mr. Tan, who also sits as the company’s chairman, has also been appointed as president “on concurrent capacity.”
Mr. Tan replaces his son, Lucio K. Tan, Jr. who passed away on Nov. 11 last year.
PAL Holdings said its board of directors approved Mr. Tan’s appointment at a meeting held in Manila on Tuesday.
They also agreed to increase the number of the company’s directors to 11 from nine members.
The holding firm said further that at the meeting of stockholders held on the same day, the increase of the authorized capital stock to P30 billion from P13 billion had also been approved.
Philippine Airlines, Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Gilbert Gabriel F. Santa Maria told reporters in a chance interview on Tuesday that the company “needs new capital.”
PAL said in a statement that the capital hike “is part of the flag carrier’s transformation towards sustainable profitability and a higher level of competitiveness.”
Mr. Tan’s son took over the holding firm on Oct. 28 after the resignation of Mr. Santa Maria. The latter remains as president and chief operating officer of PAL.
In late July, PAL Holdings named Mr. Santa Maria as its president. He was handpicked by Mr. Tan to replace Jaime J. Bautista who retired in June.
PAL Holdings reported in November that in the nine months ending September, its attributable net loss widened 116.2% to P8.5 billion from the previous year’s P3.92 billion, as expenses and financing charges increased.
PAL, along with other major local airlines, canceled flights to and from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan recently amid a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak that has killed more than a thousand people and sickened tens of thousands more in the mainland. — Arjay L. Balinbin
