MANILA - San Miguel Corp., one of the Philippines's largest companies said Tuesday it is planning to add to its power utilities after a deal to sell a large chunk of its brewing business to Japan's Kirin.

A San Miguel unit, San Miguel Energy Corp., has notified the government it intends to bid for the 620-megawatt Bataan Combined Cycle Power Plant at the mouth of Manila Bay, the parent told the stock exchange in a disclosure letter.

The government is selling off the plant and a number of other National Power Corp. generating facilities as part of a strategy to privatise the sector.

The national transmission grid has already been sold off to a consortium led by a Chinese state firm.

San Miguel and Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. announced on Monday that they had signed an agreement to negotiate the sale of up to 43.25 percent of San Miguel Brewery Inc to the Japanese firm by February.

A deal for the brewery would leave San Miguel Corp. -- Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage group -- with a 51 percent stake.

Kirin separately holds a 20 percent stake in San Miguel Corp.

San Miguel last year bought a 27 percent stake in top power distributor Manila Electric Co. and has also taken control of Petron Corp., the country's top oil refiner.

The beverage giant also announced last year that it would explore an alliance with Indonesia's PT Bumi Resources, which owns the world's largest thermal coal exporter, Kaltim Prima Coal.