[ manilastandardtoday.com ]
Property giant Ayala Land Inc. said Wednesday it would spend P90 billion to double its residential and commercial projects across the country over the next five years.
Ayala Land president Antonino Aquino said in an interview following the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting the property firm has been acquiring land in key areas such as Manila, Bicutan, Alabang, Bataan, Pampanga, Cebu and Bacolod for future master-planned, mixed-use developments.
He said that for 2012 alone, Ayala Land would launch 67 new projects with gross value of P90 billion.
Aquino said the 67 projects would include 50 residential developments, seven shopping centers, seven office buildings and three tourism-related ventures.
He said bulk of the residential products to be launched this year are in the low- to middle-income segments.
Aquino also disclosed plan to launch a small retail concept called ‘‘Fiesta Market’’ that are to be constructed within residential developments catering to low-income markets.
The company will initially put up three Fiesta Market malls in Pampanga, Cavite and Nuvali in Alabang.
Ayala Land is also set to open this year three shopping centers including Harbor Point in Subic, Centrino in Cagayan de Oro and Glorietta 1 in Makati. These new malls will add another 100,000 square meters of gross leasable area.
The company also plans to open four hotels this year, including the 349-room Holiday Inn Hotel at Ayala Center and three hotels under the Kukun brand located in Bonifacio Global City, Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City.
Meanwhile, Aquino said indications for the company’s first-quarter performance remain positive as sales takeup in the first three months was higher compared to the same period last year.
“The indication today is that the numbers continue to look very good. We have seen the demand for our product continues to be higher and this will translate to positive results on the company,” he said.
Aquino said the low-interest rate environment benefits the company’s residential business while the continued inflow of remittances translates to increased household spending which boost the company’s shopping businesses.
Ayala Land posted a record net income of P7.1 billion in 2011, up 31 percent year-on-year. The company projected net income to reach P10 billion by 2014.
(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on /2012/April/19)
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