Posted on September 06, 2012 10:11:30
PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
CONSTRUCTION of the new Philippine
Stock Exchange (PSE) building by developer Ayala Land, Inc. and Fort Bonifacio
Development Corp. (FBDC) in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City is likely
to commence next quarter, an executive involved in the project said in a recent
interview.
“Groundbreaking is targeted in the
fourth quarter of 2012,” Manny A. Blas II, FBDC commercial operations head,
said earlier this week when asked for a timetable for the project’s
construction.
He said the project will financed by
FBDC, while Ayala Land serves as project development manager. FBDC, a joint
venture between Ayala Land and Campos-led Evergreen Holdings, Inc., is the
company behind the 240-hectare BGC, which formed part of a former military base
until the 1990s, according to the firm’s Web site.
PSE, the country’s sole stock
exchange, was incorporated in 1992, replacing the now-defunct Manila and Makati
Stock Exchanges. Last April, the PSE formally approved the transfer of its
corporate headquarters to BGC from its present location along Ayala Avenue,
Makati City, inking a partnership with listed developer Ayala Land for the
project.
The new PSE offices, which will be
housed in a P3.5 billion, grade AAA multi-tower complex, will rise in the
planned One Bonifacio High Street district, a 3.2-hectare, premium mixed-use
block west of the existing Bonifacio High Street commercial strip.
Once the new building is completed
within an estimated five years, PSE said it will consider selling its two
properties in Pasig and Makati cities which will be vacated by then. The PSE
Centre in Pasig City which had been the subject of two failed auctions by the
bourse last year has been tagged as prime office space, while the PSE Plaza in
Makati City has been cited as a possible office space or concert hall venue.
The PSE’s planned transfer to BGC
comes amid the attention the district has been receiving from property analysts
touting the area as one of the faster-growing commercial and business districts
in the country today.
Rental activity in BGC, for one, has
been robust, with rents there increasing by an average of 9.2% in the first
quarter from year-ago levels, on the back of tightening supply for business
process outsourcing developments, according to a report released by real estate
services firm CB Richard Ellis Philippines, Inc. last June.
Moreover, over a quarter of BGC will
have been occupied by various establishments by yearend, covering a larger area
than its neighboring rival, the Makati Central Business District (CBD), FBDC
claimed.
“By the end of the year, BGC will have
reached 3.4 million square meters of gross floor area. This is roughly 28% of
the total build-out of BGC. That is equivalent to about half of Makati’s
current CBD,” Mr. Blas said.
Shares of Ayala Land, which is listed
at the PSE under the property subindex, yesterday shed 20 centavos or 0.89% to
P22.15 apiece from P22.35 last Wednesday. -- Franz Joseph G. de la Fuente
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