Catholic Church has billions invested in BPI, Philex, San Miguel

For most of us, it’s a given that the Catholic Church is rich. One just has to look at their sprawling acres of land, large Church structures and buildings, and millions of pesos of cash collected from mass goers every week.

What a lot of people do not know is that the Church is also a stockholder in several Philippine companies; the total investment in these publicly-listed firms comprise a sizable chunk of its total wealth. Reports submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) show that the Church and affiliate Catholic groups are, in fact, the top stockholders in companies such as the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Philex Mining Corporation (PX), San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Ayala Corporation (AC), and Phinma Corporation (PHN), among others.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, for example, is the 4th largest owner of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) with more than 300 million shares. How much are these shares worth? As of May 2011, this is valued at more than P17 billion. Yes, that’s seventeen billion pesos, with a B.

Aside from banking, the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines is also invested in mining and construction.

As of March 31, 2011, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila is the 15th top shareholder of Philex Mining Corporation (PX), the country’s largest mining firm. It owns 3.2 million shares of PX currently worth more than P66 million.

(Update August 22, 2011: Catholic Church sold all its Philex shares to Manny Pangilinan?)

It is also an investor in Concrete Aggregates Corp. (CA), a supplier of construction materials such as processed aggregates, ready mix concrete and crushed sand. Its investment in CA is currently valued at around P4.5 million.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila is not the only diocese invested in Philippine stocks. Other dioceses with significant stock investments include:

• Roman Catholic Bishop of Tuguegarao, Cagayan – owns 856,639 shares of SMC worth P94 million
• Roman Catholic Bishop of Nueva Segovia de Vigan – owns 428,067 shares of SMC worth P47 million
• Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo – owns 491,385 shares of BPI worth a total of P28 million
• Roman Catholic Bishop of Tuguegarao, Cagayan – owns 24,015 shares of Ayala Corp worth P9.3 million

Affiliate Catholic groups apparently also have huge investments in Philippine companies. More than P500 million pesos worth of San Miguel Corp (SMC)‘s shares, for example, are owned by three (3) Catholic groups:

• El Superior de la Corporacion Filipina de Padres Agustinos Recoletos – 2.37 million shares worth P260.7 million
• Superior de la Corporacion Archicofradia de N.P.J.N de Recoletos – 1.23 million shares worth P136 million
• Carmel of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague, Inc. – 957,000 shares worth P105 million

All this talk of the Church’s riches is merely the tip of the iceberg since our compilation below only includes the Church’s investments in PSE-traded firms. We do not know how much more is invested in private entities, in companies outside the Philippines, in bonds, in time deposit accounts, or in real estate properties.

We understand that the Church has to invest money in various assets, including stocks, in order to finance and sustain itself. This is actually good since this shows how financially-literate the Church is. What we just hope here at PinoyMoneyTalk is for the Church to take an active role not just in shaping the morality of its people but also in developing a more practical and productive attitude towards money and finance.

The weekly Sunday sermons should, therefore, include not just lessons about being morally upright. The Church should also convince mass goers to work and pursue livelihood and to not depend solely on and leave their fate to God (“Ipagpasa-Diyos niyo ang lahat ng inyong mga problema.”).

The Church should educate its people about the value of earning, saving, and investing money and should not condone Catholics who are already content in life even if they are penniless (“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”).

More importantly, we believe the Catholic Church should play a more pivotal and proactive role in helping solve the ills of the country. The billions of pesos of investments (as seen in the table below) can go a long way in uplifting the lives of poor Filipino people who, admittedly, form the critical mass of supporters of the Catholic Church.

Yes, the Church is already doing its share by running hospitals and orphanages, by providing assistance to those who come to them for help, and by offering moral guidance. But they can do more and they should do more. They owe it to the millions of Filipinos who go to Church every Sunday donating their hard-earned cash that the Church now owns.

Table: Stock Investments of Catholic Church and affiliate Catholic Groups

Diocese / Church Foundation	Company	# Shares Owned	Rank in Top 100	Total Investment Value
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	222,843,681	4th	PHP12.724 Billion
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (REAL CASA DE MISERICORDIA)	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	41,408,841	8th	PHP2.364 Billion
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA (HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN DE DIOS)	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	22,072,182	13th	PHP1.26 Billion
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (HOSPICIO DE SAN JOSE)	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	6,016,624	15th	PHP343.55 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (HOSP DE SA JUAN DE DIOS)	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	4,285,572	17th	PHP244.71 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (MAYORDOMIA DELA CATEDRAL)	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	2,664,266	21st	PHP152.13 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (ST. PAUL`S HOSPITAL)	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	1,772,418	26th	PHP101.21 Million
CARMEL OF THE DIVINE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE, INC.	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	726,819	49th	PHP41.50 Million
EL SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION FILIPINA DE PADRES AGUSTINOS RECOLETOS	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	551,382	60th	PHP31.48 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF JARO	Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)	491,385	64th	PHP28.06 Million
EL SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION FILIPINA DE PADRES AGUSTINOS RECOLETOS	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	2,370,000	31st	PHP260.70 Million
SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION ARCHICOFRADIA DE N.P.J.N DE RECOLETOS	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	1,234,603	75th	PHP135.81 Million
CARMEL OF THE DIVINE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE, INC.	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	957,516	79th	PHP105.33 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TUGUEGARAO	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	856,639	81st	PHP94.23 Million
REAL MONASTERIO DE LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION DE NUESTRA MADRE SANTA CLARA DE MANILA	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	809,834	83rd	PHP89.08 Million
SUPERIOR DE LA CORPORACION DE PADRES RECOLETOS POR BECAS Y VOCACIONES	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	621,702	89th	PHP68.39 Million
CARMEL OF ST THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	592,956	91st	PHP65.23 Million
THE DISCALCED CARMELITE NUNS OF CEBU	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	451,864	95th	PHP49.71 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF NUEVA SEGOVIA DE VIGAN	San Miguel Corp (SMC)	428,067	98th	PHP47.09 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA	Philex Mining Corp (PX)	3,221,135	15th	PHP66.68 Million
RELIGIOUS OF THE VIRGIN MARY - B	Philex Mining Corp (PX)	3,125,777	16th	PHP64.70 Million
RELIGIOUS OF THE VIRGIN MARY-A	Philex Mining Corp (PX)	1,091,027	69th	PHP22.58 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TUGUEGARAO	Ayala Corporation (AC)	24,015	73rd	PHP9.29 Million
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS FRATERNAL ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILS, INC.	Ayala Corporation Preferred Shares - A (ACPA)	60,000	2nd	PHP31.80 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TAGBILARAN	Ayala Corporation Preferred Shares - B (ACPR)	10,000	64th	PHP1.02 Million
DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL	PHINMA Corp. (PHN)	159,575	19th	PHP2.12 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF JUAN DE DIOS	PHINMA Corp. (PHN)	153,880	20th	PHP2.05 Million
RELIGIOUS OF THE VIRGIN MARY	PHINMA Corp. (PHN)	58,975	52nd	PHP784,368
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA	Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA)	78,846	9th	PHP3.47 Million
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (REAL CASA DE MISERICORDIA)	Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA)	13,067	18th	PHP574,948
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA (HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN DE DIOS)	Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA)	8,317	24th	PHP365,948
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (HOSPICIO DE SAN JOSE)	Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA)	1,898	66th	PHP83,512
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MLA (MAYORDOMIA DELA CATEDRAL)	Concrete Aggregates Corp (CA)	841	97th	PHP37,004
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA	ISM Communications (ISM)	38,399	48th	PHP126,333
SOCIETY OF THE DIVINE WORD	Filipino Fund Inc. (FFI)	6,000	24th	PHP48,000
ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF BANGUED	Filipino Fund Inc. (FFI)	1,500	49th	PHP12,000
CATHOLIC WOMENS LEAGUE	Benguet Corp. - A (BC)	215	53rd	PHP4,107
CORPORACION DE PADRES DOMINICOS	EEI	75,000	75th	PHP256,500

* Rank in Top 100 – rank in the Top 100 Stockholders of the Company, a report submitted by the company to the PSE
** Total Investment Value – peso value of total shares owned, as of May 27, 2011 closing prices

Source: Company reports submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange

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