Real estate, auto loans up 13% in September

By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) Updated December 01, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Total residential real estate and auto loans continued to post double-digit growth rates in the first nine months of the year despite a slower economic growth brought about by the global economic crisis.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the total real estate loans of universal, commercial, and thrift banks grew by 13.1 percent to P162.5 billion as of end-September this year from year-ago’s P143.7 billion.

Thrift banks cornered more than half of the total real estate loans with a share of 56.1 percent or P91.2 billion from January to September this year while universal and commercial banks accounted for the remaining 43.9 percent or P71.3 billion.

The total residential real estate loans accounted for 6.51 percent of the banking systems total loan portfolio of P2.496 trillion in the first nine months of the year, slightly higher than the 6.08 percent share of the system’s P2.362 trillion in the same period last year.

Likewise, the industry’s auto loans jumped by 17.4 percent to P90.6 billion from January to September compared with P77.2 billion in the same period last year due to the steady rise in vehicle sales.

Thrift banks including the subsidiaries and affiliates of universal and commercial banks cornered more than half of the auto loan business with a share of 52 percent while universal and commercial banks accounted for 47.8 percent followed by non-bank financial institutions with a share of 0.2 percent.

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Sy-led SM Prime to stick to building big shopping malls

Tuesday, December 01, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ Business World Online ]

THE COUNTRY’S largest mall operator will continue to develop big shopping centers even if others have already ventured into developing "pocket-sized" retail outlets.

"We want to focus on building shopping centers. We have no plan to venture into smaller-type malls," SM Prime Holdings, Inc. President Hans T. Sy said in an interview.

Ayala Land, Inc. has already disclosed plans to develop and manage small-format retail facilities known as "neighborhood centers," which will have a maximum 10,000 square meters (sq. m.) of gross leasable area.

Mr. Sy said the smallest development to be undertaken by SM Prime will be 55,000 sq. m., as big as the latest SM outlet, SM City Rosario in Cavite.

Mr. Sy said the company still has 14 huge properties all over the country and has been continuously acquiring land.

SM Prime spends about P3 billion a year for "landbanking," he said.

SM Prime currently dominates the mall sector with 36 malls nationwide, and is making headway in overseas expansion with four malls in China.

"They may say [the market] is already saturated but I say there is a lot of opportunity especially in the provincial areas. I am talking about places like the General Santos and Cebu City, which is actually a big area for developers," Mr. Sy said. -- K. J. R. Liu

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Construction of P20-million fish port pushed in W. Leyte

Tuesday, December 01, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]

TACLOBAN CITY -- Western Leyte officials are pushing for the construction of a P20-million fish port that will serve Ormoc City and Albuera town.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is evaluating the project, which was proposed last year. "We were instructed by our main office to facilitate the evaluation of the sites," said BFAR regional director Juan D. Albaladejo.

The local fishing sector has been producing 600 metric tons of marine products every year.

Supporting local fishers

Albuera Mayor Sixto B. de la Victoria said fishermen in the town caught a total of 2,769.68 MT of fish in the last five years.

Fish catch during peak season reaches 25,000 kilograms per trip.

The city government of Ormoc has yet to submit data on its fishing industry to BFAR and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA).

Mr. Albaladejo said the evaluation will include identification of the specific project site.

Earlier, Ormoc officials proposed that the port and a cold storage facility be established in the reclamation area of the city.

"If this project is realized, this will be a boost to the fishing industry in the western part of Leyte," Mr. Albaladejo said.

BFAR is looking at completing the preconstruction stage of the project early next year and starting the civil works within 2010.

Mr. Albaladejo said that once the proposed project is approved, it will form part of the Municipal Fish Port Program.

This program focuses on providing the post-harvest requirement of sustenance fishermen, including small fish landings and market facilities in select, strategic fishing communities nationwide.

Some of these municipal fish ports act as satellite ports for the regional fish ports.

PFDA provides support infrastructure, including the needed training on port operations and maintenance, in preparation for the eventual turnover of the ports’ management to local government units concerned. -- SQM

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Property firms boost budgets for 2010

Monday, November 30, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]

BY KRISTINE JANE R. LIU, Reporter

Federal Land, Anchor Land bullish on prospects

PROPERTY COMPANIES are boosting their budget next year, bullish that 2010 will bid well for the industry that has been one of the victims of the global financial crisis.

In an interview, Federal Land, Inc. President Alfred V. Ty said the group will set aside P5 billion next year, up from the P3.5 billion that was spent this year.

Likewise, Anchor Land Holdings, Inc. -- a property company which found its niche market among the Chinese-Filipino residing in Manila -- plans to spend as much as P6 billion, significantly higher than the P2.5 billion that the company ended up spending this year.

“We are optimistic that the property industry will grow because last year was really down. This year, the industry is slightly down so we expect a pickup next year,” Anchor Land Chairman Stephen Lee Keng said.

Mr. Ty meanwhile said the lower spending the company had this year is because the company’s first-quarter plans were slid to the third quarter, making the fourth quarter a busy period for Federal Land, which will likely be carried over to the next year.

“The second semester is looking much better than the first semester.

The first quarter was so bad, then [April to June] is ok. Then the third is better than second, making us quite optimistic for the latter part of the year,” Mr. Ty said.

Federal Land plans to roll out a number of projects next year, among which include building the third and fourth of Marquinton Garden Terraces in Marikina City, tower two of the Capitol Towers in Quezon City and three more high-rise projects in Makati City, Fort Bonifacio and Binondo, Manila.

“The others [that we plan to launch] will still have to go through the planning stage but these projects I mentioned will start construction next year,” Mr. Ty said.

For its part, Anchor Land plans to continue the construction of five of their projects, among which is the 38-storey Wharton Parksuites in Manila, which aims to target the Chinese-Filipino who are studying within the area and the 55-storey condominium tower Anchor Skysuites in Binondo, Manila, which will be the tallest building in the city once completed.

Anchor Land will also start the redevelopment of the historic Admiral Hotel in Roxas Boulevard into a European boutique hotel and will likewise roll out the last two towers of the four-tower Solemare Parksuites in Parañaque City, Anchor Land’s first stride outside its traditional market.

Anchor Land has likewise formalize its entry in the commercial sector through the construction of One Shopping Center and Two Shopping Center, which are located at Baclaran and Pasay, respectively.

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