Vol. XXI, No. 161 [ Business World Online ]
Monday, March 17, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
LISTED HOLDING firm Fil-Estate Corp. is looking at investing in new businesses such as power, water, and transportation, including a cable car project in Baguio City.
In an interview, Fil-Estate Chairman Robert John L. Sobrepeña said the firm’s new ventures are in line with its plan to reorganize.
"[F]rom the [Metro Rail Transit] franchise plus all the other related businesses, it’s blooming into other businesses already, from power, water and transportation. Probably within the year, we’ll be able to put in more businesses and augment [our] capital," he said.
Fil-Estate Corp. was one of the 15 capital-deficient firms earlier identified by the Philippine Stock Exchange, and has been asked to submit business or rehabilitation plans.
"So what we’ve done in Fil-Estate is we’re repackaging it to go into other things," Mr. Sobrepeña told BusinessWorld.
"We’re just focused on putting in maybe two or three different business lines and go back to our advisers on how to raise the funds. Perhaps it will be increasing the capitalization, [which is usually] the first step. That [will happen] maybe towards the end of the year and the actual capital raising will be next year," added Mr. Sobrepeña.
Mr. Sobrepeña said Fil-Estate would like to build a cable car along Session Road in Baguio City, a project estimated to cost between $10 million and $12 million.
"We’d like to pursue a cable car project, down the Session Road up to the marketplace. We’re talking to the local officials about that as well as [the Transportation department]," he said.
For power and water investments, the Fil-Estate chairman said initiatives would begin with-in the company’s tourism and leisure projects in Baguio and Boracay.
"If we reach power and water sufficiency on our own, the next thing to do is to look at the entire surroundings and that way tourism can grow not only for us but for everyone," Mr. Sobrepeña said.
Infrastructure is important to sustain tourism growth, he said. "That is the reason why we lag behind our competition [in] other countries like Thailand, their infrastructure is well developed and there’s no problem with power and water," Mr. Sobrepeña said.
Among Fil-Estate’s projects in Boracay are Balaihara Newcoast Villatel, Mulligan’s Golf Hotel, and Boracay Villas.
Fil-Estate is also redeveloping the Camp John Hay tourism and leisure complex in Baguio City with residential, hotel, and commercial components.
For property subsidiary Fil-Estate Land, the holding firm is allotting P2 billion this year to launch six projects and begin the construction of three more. — L.N.P. Lee
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