Friday, August 27, 2010 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
By Katlene O. Cacho
AN official of the Gotianun-led property developer Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) yesterday said the development of its P25-billion project at the South Road Properties (SRP) will beef up the sales growth of the company as it prepares to start the construction in December.
But FLI vice president for Visayas and Mindanao Tristan Las Marias said in a phone interview that the project’s significant contribution may be felt starting next year as it targets to deliver 150 condominium units to owners in December 2011.
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Las Marias declined to comment on the sales target for the year as they are still waiting for the release of their license to sell and collect payment for the residential units. But he reported that the company received “quite a significant amount of intentions and reservations from interested buyers.”
Investment
In a press briefing on Thursday, Las Marias said about P4 billion will be invested on the first phase of Citta di Mare, which includes the four five-story buildings in Amalfi Coast, the car-free residential area and Il Corso, the commercial and entertainment area on Pond F.
The two mid-rise housing projects in Citta di Mare will have about 12,000 to 15,000 total housing units.
He said the development will spur more economic activities in Cebu and make SRP a prime destination for locals and tourists.
“The development intends to entice non-Cebu based people to situate and foreigners to invest in Cebu,” las Marias said in a press briefing at the Laguna Garden Cafe.
In a report, FLI said that it will double its capital expenditure (capex) this year to almost P7 billion from P3.3 billion last year to fund landbanking and development of its 13 projects.
Las Marias said the Citta di Mare’s share is around 15 percent of FLI’s capex budget this year. And though it’s not the biggest project for the company this year, the “city by the sea” development is the biggest development of FLI in Cebu.
Las Marias said that aside from the Citta di Mare, FLI will continue to pour in more investments in Cebu to help the city position itself as a prime tourist and investment destination.
Expansion
“FLI is also eyeing expanding its residential development and some office buildings in prime locations here,” he said.
In its recent disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FLI said that for 2011 and beyond, FLI plans to build additional business process outsourcing offices in Cebu as well as other parts of Metro Manila, outside Filinvest Corporate City.
The firm said it hoped for continued robust signs in the local market and increase in overseas Filipino workers’ remittances to fuel growth in the coming years.
FLI posted a net income of P998 million in the first half of the year, a leap from the P579 million reported in the same period last year.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 28, 2010.
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