CORRECTED - CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-DMCI in top $361.7 mln bid for Philippine pow

(Corrects to "bid" from "paid" in 2nd bullet point and lead paragraph to show Suez only bid the amount)

* DMCI makes highest bid of $361.7 million for Calaca plant

* Bid is half of the $786.5 mln Suez bid for plant in 2007

* Only 2 bidders turned up, San Miguel Energy did not bid (Adds details of bid, background)

MANILA, July 8 (Reuters) - Philippine conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc (DMC.PS) made the highest bid of $361.7 million at a state auction for the 600-MW Calaca coal-fired plant, less than half of what French utility Suez (LYOE.PA) bid for it in 2007.

Suez's unit Emerald Energy Corp returned the power plant to the government in January after its condition deteriorated, forcing Manila to resell it at a lower price given current weak economic conditions.

DMCI's offer exceeded the government's undisclosed floor price, Conrad Tolentino, spokesman at the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM), told Reuters.

The company was one of only two bidders that showed up for the auction of the plant, located south of Manila and which supplies power to the capital.

DMCI's bid was higher than the offer of Thailand's Banpu Power Ltd, which submitted a bid of $280 million.

Philippine food-to-power conglomerate San Miguel Corp (SMC.PS) (SMCB.PS), which earlier indicated it was interested in Calaca, did not submit a bid.

Tolentino said the winner of the auction would be announced in a week if all documentary requirements were in order.

If the sale goes through, the government would have sold 73 percent of the 3,778.23 MW of operating capacity of plants on the main island of Luzon and in the central Visayas region, Tolentino said.

Manila aims to sell 70 percent of total capacity, one of the preconditions for open market access and retail competition in the power market. These measures are aimed at bringing down power rates in the country, known to be one of the highest in the region.

The Philippines is selling ageing and decrepit power plants of state-run National Power Corp, the country's largest power producer, to cut its debt and attract badly needed investment into the sector.

Last month, PSALM rejected bids for contracts to buy the power output of two big coal-fired power plants because the offers were below the minimum price. [ID:nMAN511426] (Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Muralikumar Anantharaman)