MANILA, Philippines - Property giant
Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has bagged a deal to develop the 60-hectare property in
Valenzuela City that used to house the country’s biggest fully-integrated
plastic manufacturing complex.
In a disclosure to the Philippine
Stock Exchange, Philippine Estates Corp. (PhilEstates), the property
development arm of the Gatchalians, said it will enter into an agreement with
ALI subsidiary Avida Land Corp.
“The board of directors of PhilEstates
authorized the development through joint venture of the corporation’s real
estate property located in Brgy. Calumay, Valenzuela City,” the company said.
The 60-hectare Plastic City property
will be developed into a residential, business and/or commercial condominium
and/or subdivision project with Avida Land.
The board also authorized management
to negotiate and finalize terms of the joint venture, PhilEstates said.
ALI is operating under five major
brands – Ayala Land Premier for the high-end segment, Alveo Land for the
middle-income segment, Avida Land for the “affordable” market, Amaia Land for
economic housing unit and Buena Vida for socialized housing.
For this year, ALI plans to roll out
67 new projects with a potential sales value of around P90 billion, and has
earmarked a record P37 billion for capital spending.
The bulk of the new developments will
comprise 50 residential projects, equivalent to about 25,000 units across its
five brands to cater to the different economic segments, or 25 percent more
than the 20,000 units rolled out a year ago.
Last month, ALI announced it is in
discussions with the Gatchalian Group who owns the sprawling Plastic City. The
Gatchalian Group has long been searching for a strategic partner to convert its
huge estate in Valenzuela into a modern mixed-use complex to maximize the
untapped potential of the property.
The property used to house the
warehouse facilities of Plastic City Industrial Corp. and Philfoods Inc. until
the two firms ceased operations in 2002 due to losses.
In a filing with securities
regulators, the Gatchalians, through Wellex Industries Inc., said the property
is seen to contribute significantly towards the group’s maximum operation and
financial position due to its encouraging prospect.
“Management is continuously in search
for a reliable joint venture partners who have the means to continue its
operations,” Wellex said.
In a separate disclosure, ALI said its
board of directors approved the company’s plan to raise P1.3 billion through
the sale of preferred shares.
For every share held as of June 4, the
public can buy one preferred share at 10 centavos apiece. Offer period for the
voting shares will be on June 18 up to June 22, 2012.
In February, ALI said it will issue
P1.3 billion worth of preferred shares to comply with a Supreme Court ruling on
foreign equity limits.
The capital restructuring exercise is
designed to meet the regulatory requirement on Filipino ownership following the
Supreme Court’s recent ruling that non-voting shares do not count as equity
when computing for a company’s Filipino ownership level.
ALI’s profits surged 31 percent to
P2.1 billion in the first quarter as revenues climbed 17 percent to P12.4
billion due to double-digit increases across all five brands.
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