San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said Friday it is among 11 firms seeking to buy a state-owned coal-fired power plant after a French company walked away from a $787-million deal early this year.

The diversified conglomerate told the Philippine Stock Exchange it has "expressed interest to bid for the Calaca coal-fired power plant."

In an interview, SMC president Ramon Ang said they will use internal cash to fund the potential acquisition, but refused to say how much.

"I think we have enough cash to handle that bid. We have complied with all the requirements needed for the negotiated bid for Calaca," he noted.

French power firm Suez Energy, through its vehicle Emerald Energy Corp., had won an October 2007 auction to take over the 600-megawatt plant, located in Batangas, south of Manila.

However, it pulled out in January, citing a "deterioration in the condition of the Calaca plant."

The government has since said it will dispose of the plant through a "negotiated sale," adding that 11 groups had signalled they would put in bids.

These groups have attended the pre-bid conference for the plant on Thursday, indicating that investors' confidence and support for the government's privatization efforts has not waned, according to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

"The investors' response was a pleasant surprise for PSALM," said its chief of staff Conrad Tolentino.

PSALM did not say how much it expected the plant to fetch.

Calaca is among the assets owned by the state utility firm that are being sold off as part of a government plan to privatize the power industry.

A consortium involving a Chinese state firm has already won the franchise to run the country's power transmission grid.

SMC, the country's largest private employer, has been moving aggressively toward heavy industries and other businesses as it seeks to diversify.

It has acquired a minority stake in top power distributor Manila Electric Co. and an option to buy a majority stake in local oil refiner Petron Corp.

It has also announced plans to venture into telecommunications, mining, water utilities, and toll roads. With AFP