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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