By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine
Star) | Updated February 27, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The holding
company of the Roxas Group is strengthening its real estate portfolio within
the next two to three years as several new projects progress and near
completion.
During the annual stockholders meeting
of Roxas & Co., Inc. in Makati yesterday, company chairman Pedro E. Roxas
said some P1 to P2 billion in fresh capital has been allocated for the
completion of its existing developments and construction of new ones within the
next two to three years.
“We want to ramp up this business
because we feel there is growth within three to five years, so we are getting a
foothold in this sector,” he said.
RCI’s main holdings are real estate
properties located in Nasugbu, Batangas, Tagaytay and other locations under
Roxaco Land Corporation as well as sugar-production facilities in Batangas and
Negros Occidental under listed Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI).
Through Roxaco Land’s hotel management
arm, Fuego Hotels, it manages several luxury resorts in Batangas, Boracay and
Bataan.
“Right now we are managing these
properties, but moving forward, we are envisioning that in the future we would
be managing and investing in some of these properties,” said Roxas.
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Around 80 percent of RCI’s business is
still sugar. Pangilinan-led First Pacific recently acquired a 34-percent stake
in RHI, a share sale seen to be beneficial for the sugar miller as it can take
advantage of the global conglomerate’s reach in Vietnam, Cambodia and
Indonesia.
Roxas said the company is looking into
further diversification of the company’s holdings.
“As we have divested our sugar
investment, we are looking at ramping the property side then balance it out,”
said Roxas. “We are looking at making it 50-50 and maybe add a third sector so
we can have a more balanced and diversified portfolio.”
For now, he said, RCI would
concentrate on developing its real esate business this year.
“We have already done work there and
it is just a matter of ramping up the projects,” said Roxas.
Santiago Elizalde, senior vice
president of Roxaco Land Corp., said the Landing Townhomes project in Nasugbu,
Batangas is expected to be completed this year, being already 50 percent
finished. Around 70 percent of the units have already been sold.
The Orchards at Balayan residential
project, also in Batangas, is the second phase of development.
The second phase of the development of
the Anya Resort & Residences in Tagaytay City is seen to begin next month.
The company is also expected to break
ground next week for the first of the five Go Hotels up for construction.
Late in 2013, Roxaco forged a joint
venture with Singapore’s Vanguard Hotel Group for the construction of five Go
Hotels in Metro Manila and select provincial destinations within three years.
The first Go Hotel would rise in
Paranaque City by 2015, while the second would rise in North EDSA at a still
undetermined time as it is still in the final stages of negotiations.
“The reason why we decided to go into
the value hotel business is that the Philippines has had close to 40 million
local travellers in the past years. So the huge volume of travellers has
triggered that decision,” said Roxas.
He said that as a long-term plan,
Roxaco wants to have holdings in all hotel market segments, not just in the
value hotel segment.
“Well, we already have a partner in
the value hotel segment and as far as the other sectors are concerned, right
now we are evaluating a number of proposals but no decisions yet,” he said.
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