The Lopez-led Benpres Holdings Corp. (BHC) trims down debts to $330 million as of end-2008 and expects to further bring down liabilities this year as it continues to make competitive offers to creditors as part of its ongoing restructuring program.

In a chance interview with chief finance officer Salvador G. Tirona, he said Benpres bought back long-term commercial papers (LTCP) with a face value of $80 million at 40-percent discount.

He said the company will continue to make competitive payment offers to creditors this year. Benpres has about P6 billion in its coffers from the sale of its stake in the toll-road business to Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) last year. Proceeds from this sale, said Tirona, will help the company settle a substantial portion of its obligations.

“Benpres’s priority is to settle its debts and improve its profile,” said Tirona, adding the company doesn’t have any capital expenditure this year as its operating units can very well support their respective expansion plans.

Benpres is the holding company of the Lopez family for investments in broadcasting, power generation and distribution and real-estate development. It is 55-percent owned by the Lopez Inc., a private holding firm of the family.

To raise funds, the company has been selling several noncore assets, including its 18-percent equity in Professional Services Inc., owner and operator of The Medical City, for P600 million.

Earlier, it hinted plans to put on the auction bloc its 24.5-percent stake in Rockwell Land Corp. (RLC).

If that sale proceeds as planned, Benpres will be left with ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. and First Philippine Holdings, both leaders in broadcast media and power generation and distribution, respectively, in the country.

The company’s debt problem started in June 2002, when it accumulated $560 million due to losses registered by former subsidiary Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Bayan Telecommunications, a telco which is currently under rehabilitation.

Since last year, it has been buying back debts to reduce obligations. Its exit from Maynilad in 2005, which removed $150 million in guaranteed obligations, via a court-approved debt capital restructuring agreement has likewise eased its liabilities.