Monday, November 24, 2008 [ manilatimes.net ]
By Likha Cuevas-Miel, Reporter
Ayala Land Inc. said it is advancing its subdivision and business process outsourcing (BPO) campus-type development as it adjusts to the shifting market demand as a result of a slowing economy.
Jaime Ayala, Ayala Land president, said in recent briefing that the P20-billion capital expenditure for next year—which is P4-billion less than this year’s original budget—is not necessarily a mark of a slowdown in the company’s activities.
“We have a lot of projects underway and they will be finished on time with the quality that we promised. We’re seeing opportunities for development [but] we’re making some adjustments but we’re moving forward,” Ayala said.
During times of crisis, people want to invest in land, therefore Ayala Land is “pushing” to be more active in developing subdivisions, he said.
At present, the property firm is developing the 35-hectare Marquee Place, a gated subdivision in Angeles City, Pampanga that is set to be completed next year. Last year, it also launched a subdivision in Cagayan de Oro City and a third in the 1,600-hectare Nuvali, Canlubang called Abrio, which is a 70-hectare subdivision.
Tighter economic conditions also propel people to buy homes at lower price points so Ayala Land is “putting heavy emphasis” on its most affordable housing lines under the Avida and Alveo brands.
Ayala said the company is also veering away from big high-rise office spaces, opting instead to develop campus-type spaces for BPO firms like the UP-Ayala Land Techno Hub that was launched last week. These developments often integrate commercial and office spaces with occasional provisions for workers’ residences.
This year, Ayala Land has doubled its gross leasable office space to 150,000 to 160,000 square meters, another 100,000 square meters by the end of next year.
The company is also set to build similar BPO campuses in Camp John Hay in Baguio City, Davao and in Nuvali, Canlubang.
Ayala, however, denied Ayala Land has tied up with Fil-Estate Land Inc. (FELI) to develop lot pads around the former’s TriNoMa mall, adjacent to the North Avenue Metro Rail Transit (MRT) station.
He said the National Housing Authority owns the lots but the right to develop these belongs to the Metro Rail Transit Corp., a consortium composed of the Ayala group, Anglo-Philippine Holdings Corp., Fil-Estate Management Inc., Ramcar Inc. and Greenfield Development Corp.
“At this point is time the consortium is still discussing how we will divide up the land and how we will develop it. No firm projects at this point,” Ayala said.
On November 18, FELI told the Philippine Stock Exchange in a disclosure that it is in talks with the Ayala group about developing these lot pads around the mall.
