New wind power project to rise in Mindoro

By Juancho R. Mahusay (The Philippine Star) | Updated October 1, 2013 - 12:00am

CALAPAN CITY , Philippines   – After the national government recently issued an official service contract to a private company to speed up construction of wind power facilities in Oriental Mindoro, another renewable energy resource developer is set to construct a 33.4-megawatt wind power project here, making this island province producer of electricity using wind as its main source.

PhilCarbon Inc. president Ruth Y. Owen said her company’s wind farm – which will be built in the municipality of Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro – is currently in the pre-development stage and the facilities for it, including its power plant, would start construction in 2016.

“We are currently in the permitting process.  We have already secured the ECC (environmental compliance certificate) for the project,” she said on the sidelines of the Powertrends 2013 International Exhibition and Conference which was recently held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

“We plan to construct the project in three years or in 2016 and that will take a year and a half before being operational,” Owen added.

According to her, the said wind power project – which would cost a staggering P3.4 billion – would be funded through debt and equity, and noted that the wind farm is estimated to generate 73.146 gigawatt-hour of power annually.

PhilCarbon received its wind energy service contract from the Department of Energy in 2011. In December last year, the company secured approval from the Board of Investments (BOI) to avail of incentives under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

“The BOI has approved our application for registration as a renewable energy developer of wind power to avail incentives such as duty-free importation of capital equipment as we prepare for construction of our wind power project,” Owen said.

Besides the wind project in Oriental Mindoro, the company also has plans to rehabilitate the 50-kilowatt Pasonanca hydro power plant in Zamboanga City, under a memorandum of agreement it signed with the water district of the city.

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Filinvest Land spending P4B on Davao project

Posted on September 30, 2013 10:09:42 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

DAVAO CITY -- Filinvest Land, Inc. is investing P4 billion to build eight residential buildings here targeting the middle-income market, an official of the Gotianun-led property developer said recently.

“The dominant target market for 8 Spatial Davao is the… middle-income family segment earning a joint income of at least P40,000 monthly with roughly P12,000 disposable income,” Tristan L. Las Marias, Filinvest Land first vice-president for the Visayas and Mindanao, said during the launching of the project last Sept. 23.

Mr. Las Marias said the eight buildings with 1,600 condominium units are being built at a total cost of P4 billion.

A buyer needs to pay a 10% down payment -- roughly P130,000 for a P1.3 million unit -- payable in 18 months with the 90% balance payable through bank financing in five to 10 years, according to a project brief.

Each unit measures 32-square-meters with two bedrooms, designed for start-up families.

“Eight buildings with six floors each will be built on a 3.8-hectare property along Ma-a Road, which is walking distance from the NCCC shopping mall and just a few minutes away from the major educational institutions and commercial establishments in the city,” said Geraldine de Gorostiza, Filinvest Land area development manager.

With only 30% of the total space to be used for buildings, Mr. Las Marias said 70% of this new development will be open spaces, trees and pathwalks.

Mr. Las Marias said alternatives to wood are used to emphasize the environmental feature of this project and others before it.

“We have saved around 3,000 pieces of plywood and 85,000 board feet of lumber per building,” he claimed.

For 2011 alone, he said, the company saved 40,000 pieces of plywood and 1.1 million board feet of lumber for its projects.

Mr. Las Marias also said the project will have a system to collect rainwater to be used in toilets and for watering plants.

The project is also built higher than street level since Ma-a has been identified as a frequently flooded area.

8 Spatial is the third joint venture between Filinvest Land and CVA & Sons, which is owned by the Carlos Villa Abrille family.

The two others are Le Jardin de Villa-Abrille -- also in Ma-a -- and Fuente de Villa-Abrille along Tulip Drive in Matina.

Filinvest Land has five residential subdivisions in Davao City as well as one each in Tagum City and the Island Garden City of Samal.

It is also behind the One Oasis Davao condominium complex located right next to SM City Davao.

Shares of the company ended trading yesterday at P1.60 apiece, down four centavos or 2.44% from P1.64 each on Friday last week. -- C. A. Carillo         

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Court tells tax bureau to refund BCDA

Posted on September 30, 2013 10:29:28 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

A COURT has ordered the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to refund the Bases and Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) millions of pesos in tax withheld on the sale of military land, ruling that while the agency itself was not tax-exempt, proceeds from such sale was expressly excluded by law.

In a 26-page decision promulgated on Sept. 13, the first division of the Court of Tax Appeals granted BCDA’s request for a P101.637-million refund representing the 5% creditable withholding tax (CWT) on the sale of a 1.204-hectare property in the Fort Bonifacio area in Taguig City for some P2.033 billion.

The property, called “Expanded Big Delta Lots,” was awarded under four separate contracts to an unincorporated joint venture of Property Holdings, Inc.; The Net Group Project Management Corp.; and The Net Group Property Management Corp. in May 23, 2008.

The joint venture remitted to the tax bureau on July 31, 2008 some P101.637 million in CWTs.

BCDA later asked the bureau for a refund, arguing that the amount was “erroneously or illegally collected.”

On July 29, 2010, BCDA raised the issue to the CTA after the tax bureau failed to act on its refund request.

The CTA ruled that while BCDA was not one of the state firms or agencies exempt from income tax under Republic Act (RA) No. 9337 -- namely: the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office -- an amendment to RA 7227, the law which formed BCDA, “specifically exempt the proceeds of the sale… of portions of Metro Manila military camps from all kinds of taxes and fees.”

“Considering that the proceeds from the sale of petitioner’s subject property are exempt from income tax, the CWTs which were withheld by buyer-companies amounting to P101,637,466.40 were erroneously remitted to and collected by the BIR,” read the decision penned by CTA Presiding Justice Roman G. Del Rosario.

Associate Justices Erlinda P. Uy and Cielito N. Mindaro-Grulla concurred with the decision.

BCDA was formed under RA 7227, or the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, to oversee conversion of former military bases to “productive civilian use” and to raise funds for the government in the process. -- Mikhail Franz E. Flores           

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Science Park eyes PSE listing

By Louella D. Desiderio (The Philippine Star) | Updated September 30, 2013 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Industrial estate developer Science Park of the Philippines Inc. (SPPI) is planning to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), an official said.

SPPI president and chief officer Rommel Leuterio said that should the firm decide to list on the local bourse, it would raise at least P1 billion from the initial public offering (IPO).

“For an IPO to be meaningful, it has to be at least P1 billion,” he said.

The company plans to go public in two to three years.

The firm wants to take advantage of the strong demand for spaces for manufacturing facilities in the industrial estate business.

SPPI is set to start work on the development of a new industrial park, the Light Industry and Science Park IV, located in Malvar, Batangas.

The firm is spending P4 billion to develop the 200-hectare industrial park.

SPPI has already received official initial approval for registration from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) for the industrial park, which will allow the firm as well as locators to enjoy tax perks.

The industrial park will be complemented by a 60-hectare residential and commercial area, to be developed by SPPI’s sister company, Pueblo de Oro Development Corp.

Apart from the Light Industry and Science Park IV, SPPI has developed five industrial parks, composed of two in Laguna, one in Batangas, one in Bataan and one in Cebu.

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Ayala Land bonds keep top debt grade

Posted on September 29, 2013 10:01:02 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

A LOCAL debt watcher has kept the highest rating for the P21-billion fixed-rate bonds of Ayala Land, Inc., citing the company’s solid fundamentals.

“Credit Rating and Investors Services Philippines, Inc. (CRISP) reaffirms its ‘AAA’ issuer rating on Ayala Land, as the property developer completes its multi-tranche P21-billion bond offering this year,” the credit rater said in a statement yesterday.

The “AAA” rating is CRISP’s highest rating that reflects strong capacity to repay debt obligations by a bond issuer.

Ayala Land in July issued P15 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds -- the first tranche of the P21-billion issuance -- with a 5% coupon rate, and which will mature in 2024.

In reaffirming its prime rating, CRISP noted Ayala Land’s “strength demonstrated by its continuing solid financial performance, market leadership and high quality assets.”

“CRISP [also] assigns a stable outlook to the rating as it believes that Ayala Land’s impressive track record in property development, strong financial performance and its land bank portfolio of high quality assets will sustain its leadership position in a competitive real property development sector,” the debt watcher said.

At the same time, CRISP also reaffirmed its “AAA” rating on Ayala Land’s three-year P3 billion Homestarter Bonds, which were earlier issued in 2012 and 2013.

Last week, another local debt watcher Philippine Ratings Services Corp. affirmed its highest rating for Ayala Land’s P15-billion bonds issued last April.

The rating was maintained given the following key considerations: continuously growing profitability, coupled with strong cash flow generation and high cash reserves; conservative capitalization, with ample room for additional debt; diversified portfolio with a substantial strategic land bank; solid brand equity and a highly experienced management team; as well as continued favorable outlook in terms of the performance of the real estate sector backed by sound economic fundamentals.

Ayala Land shares gained 10 centavos or 0.35% to close at P28.80 apiece on Friday last week. -- Cliff Harvey C. Venzon            

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