By Alena Mae S. Flores

The board of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. approved the full purchase of Bacnotan Industrial Park Corp. and a 3.9-hectare property inside the Batangas Union Industrial Park, both owned by property developer Phinma Group.

?The acquisition of the properties shall further strengthen the asset and equity position of the company,? Phoenix said in a disclosure to the stock exchange. It did not disclose further details of the acquisition.

The Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday temporarily suspended the trading of Phoenix shares pending the submission of additional information to the exchange.

Bacnotan Industrial is the owner and operator of Batangas Union, a 108-hectare industrial park in Calaca, Batangas, which includes an L-shaped multi-purpose port facility.

Batangas Industrial is the industrial property development arm of Phinma, a diversified Philippine business group engaged in energy and mining, property-and-shelter, education and financial services.

Major shareholders of Batangas Industrial are Bacnotan Consolidated Industries Inc., which owns 60 percent of the equity, and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., which hold a 30 percent stake.

?In preparation for expansion into the Luzon market, Phoenix Petroleum intends to buy out BIPC,? Phoenix said earlier.

Phoenix plans to use the prime industrial lot in Batangas Union as an environment-friendly fuel storage, blending and recycling facility.

The company?s wholly-owned subsidiary Petroterminals Philippines Inc. operates Batangas Union?s depot and terminal facilities.

Phoenix earlier disclosed that it planned to buy Batangas Industrial for P658 million, or P109.80 per share.

Phoenix is engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products, lubricants, chemicals and an array of car care products and accessories. It provides services such as depot operation, storage, logistics, into-plane and allied services.

Phoenix shares were listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in July 2007, the first petroleum company to do so since the passage of 1998 Downstream Oil Deregulation Act.