ALI in P15-B alliance with Ortigas

Published : Saturday, June 30, 2012 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]

Written by : Madelaine Miraflor, Reporter

AYALA Land Inc. (ALI) has entered into a strategic alliance with the group led by  Ignacio Ortigas to participate in OCLP Holdings Inc., and allocated P15 billion to the development of its various properties and businesses.

In a disclosure to Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the alliance with OCLP Holdings, the parent company of Ortigas and Company Limited Partnership, was an invitation that came from Ortigas and this is in line with ALI’s plan to expand.

“The strategic alliance is consistent with ALI’s thrust of expanding its operations to other areas within and outside Metro Manila through partnerships,” ALI said in a statement.

The alliance is expected to generate significant synergies with the other projects of ALI in nearby communities, such as the integrated mixed-use projects in the cities of Pasig and Mandaluyong, as well as Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

“Our company intends to contribute its expertise in building large scale, mixed-use developments to this partnership. This development projects include plans for residential, office, retail and hotel components,” the listed real estate firm said.

ALI president Antonino Aquino said on Friday that the Philippine economy has never been progressive and this is a good sign to start large projects.

On Thursday, ALI launched its P30-billion worth of projects named One Bonifacio High Street, a joint project of Ayala Land, Evergreen Holdings, and Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. The Suites has a development cost of P9.9 billion and the new PSE building will cost P3 billion to P4 billion.

ALI is a property developer giant in the country that spans residential, commercial and industrial space development, mall and hotel operations, construction, and property management services.

Almost 62 percent of its revenues come from sales of residential and industrial land, and the leasing of shopping centers and office space.

Also on Thursday, the Ortigas family has fused its interest in the property holding company Ortigas Holdings, by buying out the 34-percent stake held by HSBC, a British banking giant, for about P11 billion.

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Banks’ exposure to real estate sector hits P538 billion

Written by  Aileen Lor

Friday, 29 June 2012 00:00 [ tribune.net.ph ]

As of the end of March, the combined exposure to the real estate sector of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) and thrift banks (TBs) is at P538.1 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

Data showed that the exposure was up by 3.8 percent from previous quarter’s P518.6 billion and by 21 percent from last year’s P444.9 billion.

Additional exposure during the quarter came exclusively from real estate loans (RELs), which grew by 3.6 percent (P18.3 billion) to P524.1 billion while investments in securities issued by real estate companies grew by 9.9 percent (P1.3 billion) to P14.0 billion.

BSP said that the RELs accounted for the majority of the real estate capturing 97.4 percent share, while the remaining 2.6 percent were in the form of investments in securities which issued by real estate companies.

By industry, U/KBs accounted for a significant exposure held at 76.9 percent share and the remaining 23.1 percent was accounted for by TBs.

The P18.3 billion additional RELs in the first quarter of 2012 came from the P11.7 billion expansion in residential RELs and the P6.5 billion growth in commercial RELs.

In the breakdown of RELs by industry showed that the RELs of U/KBs were concentrated for commercial purposes at 67.0 percent and the remaining 33.0 percent were for residential purposes.

In contrast, RELs of TBs granted to residential borrowers is 80.9 percent of total RELs while the balance of 19.1 percent were for commercial borrowers.

Ratio of RELs to total loan portfolio, exclusive of interbank loans (TLP) continued to remain stable at around 14 to 15 percent level.

Non-performing RELs also rose by 5.5 percent from previous quarter’s P25.4 billion. Consequently, the non- performing RELs ratio slightly went up to 5.1 percent from previous quarter’s 5.0 percent.

Meantime, non-performing residential RELs ratio was still better at 4.2 percent than non-performing commercial RELs ratio at 5.8 percent.

Data also showed that the ratio of combined RELs and investments to the real estate industry to TLP plus total debt and equity investments rose to 10.2 percent from last year’s 9.5 percent.

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Cavite resort project readied

Posted on June 28, 2012 10:16:48 PM[ BusinessWorld Online ]

RESORT OPERATOR Boulevard Holdings, Inc. has tapped a Singapore-based consultancy to evaluate the master plan of its Puerto Azul project in Cavite for $370,000, a disclosure to the local bourse yesterday showed.

Following a special meeting on Wednesday, the company’s board approved the appointment of Aecom Singapore Ptd. Ltd. to review and update the company’s Puerto Azul master plan for $230,000, and provide economic analysis for $140,000, the disclosure read.

Jose Marcel E. Panilio, Boulevard Holdings chairman and chief executive, was authorized to sign these deals on behalf of the company.

Aecom Singapore is a unit of a global provider of professional technical and management support services in a variety of fields including architecture, building engineering, construction, and design planning, according to its Web site.

Recently, Boulevard Holdings has been scouting for foreign and local partners to develop its 3,000-hectare Puerto Azul resort in Ternate, Cavite. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente  

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GERI aims for 20% profit growth

Posted on June 28, 2012 10:18:58 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

LISTED GLOBAL-ESTATE Resorts, Inc., the leisure development arm of Alliance Global Group, Inc., is looking to grow profits by a fifth this year, an official yesterday said.

“Our primary objective this year is to achieve earnings growth of at least 20% over last year, and second, to enhance [our] position as the leading developer of master planned tourism estates,” said Ferdinand T. Santos, Global-Estate Resorts president, during the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

This could mean P264 million in profits from the P220 million the firm recorded in 2011.

To achieve its goal for the year, the company is eyeing P2.5 billion in capital expenditures, to be bankrolled by a mix of internal funds and debt, Mr. Santos said.

As of the first quarter, the company had already completed ten subdivisions covering roughly 190 hectares in the cities of Baguio and Naga and the provinces of Bulacan, Batangas, Laguna, a disclosure to the local bourse showed yesterday.

Reservation sales, which amounted to roughly P1 billion last year, is expected to double, Mr. Santos added.

“[And] we remain upbeat on the long-term prospects of tourism, and of the company. With our focus and expertise, Global-Estate Resorts will truly seal its place as the leading developer of integrated tourism estates, he said.

Global-Estate Resorts is currently developing two township projects: Boracay Newcoast off Aklan, and Twin Lakes in Tagaytay City.

The P15-billion Boracay Newcoast, comprising 14% of Boracay island, is expected to attract 350,000 tourists annually and generate 3,000 new jobs. The development will include hotels, retail, sports and leisure facilities, residential villages, and condominiums, earlier reports said.

Meanwhile, the first phase of the P5-billion, 1,149-hectare Twin Lakes, the country’s first vineyard resort community overlooking Taal Lake, will feature a hotel, spa, shopping center, and residential village. -- F. J. G. de la Fuente  

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ALI launches P30-B investments in Global City

Published : Friday, June 29, 2012 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]

Written by : MADELAINE MIRAFLOR REPORTER

Philippine real-estate giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) launched its P30-billion investment in Bonifacio High Street in Global City, which includes the new Shangri-La Hotel, new Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) building and a high-rise residential development called “The Suites.”

The P30-billion worth of projects was named One Bonifacio High Street, a joint project of Ayala Land, Evergreen Holdings, and Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. The Suites has a development cost of P9.9 billion and the new PSE building will cost P3 billion to P4 billion.

ALI President Antonino Aquino said that the Philippine economy has never been progressive and this is a good sign to start large projects.

“Ayala Land’s aggressiveness is the result of the Philippines’ good economy, which outshined the crisis all over the world,” he said

ALI’s discussion with PSE has also progressed well, Aquino added. The real estate company believes that the PSE’s decision to move to Global City, which is located in Taguig City, was probably driven by the good trend of the economy during the past few weeks.

ALI estimates the PSE building will be finished in late 2016, or early 2017.

As for The Suites, the latest residential development of ALI, Aquino said that four days after it was been launched, only three units are left for sale. Aquino said that most of their customers came largely from the Philippine front, mainly overseas Filipino workers.

“The Philippine demand is too strong. We didn’t have to look outside the country to gain more customers,” he said. The Suites is the first all-suite residential development in the block, surrounded by offices, malls and a museum.

“In developing a property, ALI’s main concern is the location. We always make sure that in building residential development, the location will be very compliant to our clients,” Aquino said.

One Bonifacio High Street is known for hosting some notable lifestyle spots in the Bonifacio Global City (BGC).

“BHS [Bonifacio High Street] banners Ayala Land’s aggressive efforts in BGC, as evidenced by the presence of the developments within its one-kilometer strip that traverse at the heart of the district,” said Aquino.

ALI is involved in property development spanning residential, commercial and industrial space development, mall and hotel operations, construction, and property management services. Almost 62 percent of its revenues come from sales of residential and industrial land, and the leasing of shopping centers and office space.

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