04/19/2012 [ tribune.net.ph ]
Listed real estate firm Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is gearing up to sustain its record performance last year as it aims to acquire lands and develop projects near PPP projects therefore boosting tourism-related projects of the company as well.
ALI president Antonino Aquino said the company intends to have land banks in those places which are going to be close to PPP projects. These PPP projects include the Daang Hari, C6, the CALA Highway and SCTex.
For a project near the SCTex, ALI earlier announced that it will be in Pampanga. “It will be an exciting development because we see Clark as it develops and Subic is there and we will be in the middle of things which will be considered as the Nuvali of Pampanga,” he said.
The firm earlier had said that it will be expanding further and opening new areas to the Northern and to the Eastern part of Manila with the success of if large-scale Nuvali project in the South of Metro Manila. “We will also have Nuvali in Cavite, Rizal, Pampanga but we’ll call it differently but that is the strategy we will be pursuing which is geared towards profitability,” Aquino said.
Under tourism, the company president said they will be spending 13 percent of capex for hotels. Capex was set at P37 billion for this year largely for the completion of ongoing developments, new residential and leasing project launches, and new landbank acquisitions which will help sustain the company’s growth trajectory over the coming years.
“We believe tourism is probably the next growth driver of the economy due to the pronouncements of the Tourism secretary and the impact of the new campaign ads coupled with PPP initiatives which will improve access and connectivity… the natural attractiveness of the country, the hospitality orientation culture that we have, the English language as well,” he said.
“It’s up to the private sector to supplement what the government is doing by promoting tourism and we at Ayala Land are committed to support that because it is also a good business to be in,” Aquino added.
For the company, hotels business still accounts for a small portion of revenues but will eventually increase over time. “Hotel thrust is building urban hotel lifestyle, more of businessmen in terms of pricing. The current expansion is in the Kukun brand which is mostly in business centers,” he added.
The OFW market is also poised for growth as ALI is targeting to grow the segment over time, doubling in a five-year period in terms of percentage. “Granting that the remittances continue to grow and interest rates remain low, on that premise, the OFW market which is primarily an end-user market, and if Philippines would move up as a country that is going to be where growth is going to come from. That broad segment is where major growth will be coming from and will all step up to the next brand,” he noted. Danessa O. Rivera
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