BOI firm on cap for low cost mass housing perks

[ manilatimes.net ] March 31, 2011

THE Board of Investments (BOI) will insist on a new guideline that only low cost mass housing units worth P2.5 million and below can avail of incentives under this year’s investment plan.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Cristino Panlilio told reporters that the mass housing developers’ petition that such a cap be removed was raised during the recent meeting of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, which discussed the draft 2011 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

The BOI earlier proposed a P2-million cap, but later jacked up the ceiling to appease developers.

State-run Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council defines low cost housing as units that cost between P751,000 and P3 million.

Developers belonging to the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Association Inc. and the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc. had said that taking away the perks for units worth more than P2.5 million would be a disincentive to the market of such housing units.

But Panlilio said low cost mass housing units worth less than P2.5 million are “80 [percent] to 90 percent of what is considered affordable housing for the middle market.”

He said the NEDA board would adopt the BOI’s position on the issue.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo told reporters on Monday that the 2011 IPP has just “a few items” to be ironed out before it is submitted for the President’s approval.

The annual IPP lists down business activities that can be granted incentives by the BOI.

Ben Arnold O. De Vera

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Housing firm eyes public listing this year

Posted on March 30, 2011 09:40:04 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

ACM Landholdings, Inc., a niche player in the property industry that caters to families of seafarers, is looking to sell up to 30% of the company on the local bourse later this year to complement other fund-raising moves for its projects, officials yesterday said.

It hopes to raise P1 billion from the planned public share sale on top of the P500 million being sought from a private investor, they said.

Fresh funds will be used to expand beyond its existing projects in Batangas and Cavite to Visayas and Mindanao in a bid to grow income by 25% to P180 million.

“The barrier to growth is fresh capital. This is a very capital-intensive industry,” Carolina S. Osteria, chief finance officer of ACM Landholdings, said in a briefing.

“We will float about 20%-30% of the company depending on share prices,” she added, noting that this could occur by the third quarter at the earliest.

ACM Landholdings had deferred its initial public offering twice already, of which the first time was in 1997 when the Asian financial crisis hit.

In 2008, the company completed a due diligence with underwriter BDO Capital and Investment Corp. but the listing was again postponed given the global financial crisis.

The listing this year will add to the P500 million the company seeks to raise from a private placement expected in the first half, Antonette P. de Guzman, managing director of the company, said.

The 18-year-old ACM Homes has already sold almost 10,000 low- and mid-income homes at P300,000 to P3.5 million each, bulk of which were sold to families of seafarers.

ACM Landholdings has developed 15 projects covering around 100 hectares in Batangas and Cavite. Robust demand will allow the company to post growth again this year, officials said.

ACM Landholdings recognized revenues of P823 million last year versus P600 million in 2009. It is targeting P180 million in net income for 2011 versus the P144 million recorded the year previous.

For this year, the company wants to launch three to four projects in the two provinces with a record 2,500 units, Ms. de Guzman said.

The property firm is also looking at Visayas and Mindanao for further growth. This is better than the 2,000 homes launched in 2010.

“We are looking in Davao and Iloilo because we are taking the [crew management companies] Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC),” Ms. Osteria said.

PTC allowed ACM Landholdings to exclusively tap nearly 35,000 marine officers and crew for growth. -- N. J. C. Morales

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RLC funnels bulk of funds to land acquisition plans

Posted on March 30, 2011 09:41:57 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

GOKONGWEI-LED Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) will spend a bulk of the proceeds from a planned P13.57-billion share sale to buy more lots for its projects, the property giant said in a disclosure to the local bourse.

Land acquisition will account for 41% or P5.57 billion of the fresh funds expected to be generated from the stocks right offering which kicks off on April 11, Robinsons Land said.

“The offer period shall...end on April 15 at 12 noon, Manila time,” Robinsons Land said.

The rest will be divided among various projects in the pipeline: P2.984 billion for development of commercial properties, P2.978 billion to build new residential projects, P1.49 billion to finance the construction of office buildings and P542 million for hotel development.

“Robinsons Land intends to use the majority of its net proceeds from the offer to finance the acquisition of land and for its mixed-use property developments like malls, condominiums, hotels and offices in Metro Manila and in the region,” the prospectus read.

“For the commercial centers division, [proceeds will be used] to partially finance the construction of one new mall in Metro Manila and four new malls in provincial areas,” Robinsons Land said.

Three prime residential condominium projects under the high-end Robinsons Luxuria brand will be financed by the stock rights offering.

Another three will also be put up under the business district-based Robinsons Residences.

Two new office buildings will rise in the Ortigas business district through the fresh capital, Robinsons Land said.

For the hotels division, new cash will partially finance the construction of five to six new GoHotels over the next two years, the company said.

Under the two-for-one stock rights offering approved by stock holders last month, Robinsons Land will sell 1.36 billion common shares at P10 each from the unissued shares.

This is resulting from the increase in the company’s authorized capital stock of 8.2 billion common shares.

Shareholders that have fully subscribed to new shares under their rights could buy the unsubscribed at the end of the offer period, Robinsons Land said.

Robinsons Land tapped ATR KimEng Capital Partners, Inc. as the lead underwriter for the share sale and receiving agent of payments will be Robinsons Bank.

The company added: “JG Summit Holdings, Inc., the majority shareholder of Robinsons Land, has committed to subscribe, in addition to its own entitlement of rights shares, to any rights shares that will not otherwise be taken up by other eligible shareholders.”

Robinsons Land, the property arm of listed JG Summit Holdings, Inc., is into shopping malls, hotels and office space leasing.

Shares in the property developer -- whose profits surged by almost a quarter to P1.016 billion in the first quarter of its fiscal year that will end in September -- closed four centavos lower at P11.46 each yesterday. -- Neil Jerome C. Morales

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Robinsons Land taps celebrity designers

Posted on March 30, 2011 08:48:50 PM [ BusinesWorld Online ]

ROBINSONS LAND Corp. of the Gokongwei conglomerate has started the construction of the company’s first designer residences, it said in a statement.

The P4-billion development under the Robinsons Luxuria brand will showcase the works of three homegrown designers and architects: interior designer Antonio “Budji” Layug, architect Royal Pineda, and furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue.

“Signa Designer Residences, the country’s first designer residence, recently marked another milestone with its groundbreaking at its future site located at the corner of Rufino and Valero Streets, Salcedo Village in Makati,” the property firm said.

Signa Designer Residences, which was launched in October 2009, is a joint venture project of Robinsons Land and Security Land Corp.

The groundbreaking ceremony officially started the construction for the first tower of Signa Designer Residences that will be completed in 2015. The second tower is expected to be completed by 2016.

Robinsons Land said the exclusive community is composed of 702 residential flat units. The company sells single, two- and three-bedroom units with a floor space ranging from 33 to 100 square meters.

“For this ambitious project, the elements of architecture, interior and space design, and furniture design are coming together at the very onset to create a unified whole -- a distinctly, unique artist-inspired environment that promotes a well-balanced lifestyle,” the property developer said.

The Signa Designer Residences offers its modern architectural design and concrete façade with glass windows.

Amenities in the two-tower, 29-storey residential property includes a 10-meter-high plaza and a high-ceilinged lobby, as well as some units with sliding doors that open to the swimming pool.

Robinsons Land is targeting families who want to switch to a healthier and more modern place of their own and young professionals looking for city living in a relaxing atmosphere.

Buyers can pick among luxurious condominium finishes -- Designer, Designer Luxe, and Cobonpue Series -- to suit their tastes.

The Designer Series gives attention to flow, zoning, proportion, and scale with a modern tropical atmosphere and a tranquil environment.

For the Designer Luxe Series, the company offers units with fully developed interior designs and finer materials.

“Illusions contribute to a feeling of vastness, superior unit specifications are featured, high-end fixtures, and detailed modules are strategically used to build a bigger impression of the unit,” Robinsons Land said.

Furthermore, the Cobonpue Series showcases a fusion of tropical and modern sensibilities.

The Signa Designer Residences is under the Robinsons Luxuria brand.

Robinsons Land operates under four brands -- Robinsons Luxuria for the high-end market, Robinsons Residences for condominiums in central business districts, Robinsons Homes for house-and-lot developments in provinces and Robinsons Communities for the middle-income segment.

Model units are at the Grand showroom located at Level 1, East Lane, Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas Center. Another showroom is at the Signa site showroom located at Security Land Building in Ayala Avenue corner Rufino Street, Salcedo Village, Makati.

In a related development, Robinsons Land said it recently marked another milestone in the construction development of AmiSa, a masterplanned, six-hectare leisure community in Cebu. AmiSa is composed of six residential towers, a hotel, an entertainment center and a host of amenities. -- Neil Jerome C. Morales

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