Napocor to hold third batch of coal tenders

Philippines? National Power Corp. has set a third batch of electronic tenders for combined 10 panamax shipments for the Sual and Masinloc stations on May 23 for delivery June 2003 to May 2004, Platts reported Monday.

A pre-bidding conference was held on May 9. Napocor said it has set a ceiling price of $35.42/mt CIF for the coal it will procure for Sual and $36.41/mt CIF for Masinloc.

Meanwhile, a source said Napocor has no plans to stipulate option tonnages in its new spot contracts. The source said procurement officials have reckoned it would be easier to hold fresh tenders than to exercise options, as both took the same amount of time to obtain contract approval from authorized government bodies. With fresh tenders, coal procurement officials can avoid being suspected of favoring particular companies ? an accusation they would most likely encounter when contract tonnages options are exercised, the source added. (*)