Vista Land constructs P1.5-b Bonifacio tower

By Jenniffer B. Austria | Jul. 30, 2014 at 12:01am [ manilastandardtoday.com ]

Property developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. is constructing a P1.5-billion office tower within Bonifacio Global City.

Vista Land comptroller Cynthia Javarez said in an interview the company had  started building the 15-story office development that would cater to business process outsourcing companies.

This will be the flagship of BPO office project of Vista Land, as part of the company’s strategy to diversify sources of income to leasing revenues from commercial projects.

The office building, which sits on a 2,500-square meter property, will be completed by the second quarter of 2016. The office project has 20,000 square meters of leasable space.

Aside from Bonifacio Global City, Vista Land plans to build office buildings within the 1,500-hectare Vista City in Muntinlupa. The company is also looking at other sites for future BPO office projects.

Vista Land has been beefing up the rental space business as the company moves closer to its target of P1-billion revenue from the leasing side.

The property firm is also developing retail spaces mostly within its residential projects.

Vista Land is one of the leading developers of masterplanned communities and  brands, namely Camella, Crown Asia, Brittany and Vista Residences, which offer quality housing across all market segments.

______________________________________________________________

Araneta Group to build P3-B Novotel in Cubao

By Neil Jerome C. Morales (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 29, 2014 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - The Araneta Group, one of the pioneers in entertainment and leisure development in the Philippines, has completed the structural works for a P3-billion hotel project in Cubao, Quezon City.

Novotel Manila-Araneta Center will become the first businessman’s hotel in Quezon City with the scheduled start of operations early next year, a company executive said.

Araneta Group topped off yesterday the Novotel Manila-Araneta Center, making it the first and only Philippine hotel of global hospitality giant Accor Group that has close to 400 hotels and resorts in 60 countries.

Araneta Group’s vice-president for operations Antonio T. Mardo said the P3-billion hotel “is poised to invigorate local tourism and bring in revenues to Quezon City.”

The four- to five-star hotel will start operations early next year following the completion go the fit-outs, Mardo said.

“Well-positioned to cater to the needs of more than 56,000 registered businesses in Quezon City, the hotel also aims to take advantage of the increasing volume of domestic and international tourists,” Araneta Group said.

It is close to major railway lines and provincial bus stations, making the hotel a preferred venue for events north of the metropolis, the property group said.

Novotel Manila-Araneta Center, envisioned as the only upscale business hotel in Quezon City, will feature 450 rooms, ballroom with 1,396 person capacity and large function rooms.

Mardo said the hotel also includes a lush wedding all-day fining restaurant and relaxing garden terraces that offer a 360-degree view of the metropolis.

Amenities like the Olympic-sized pool, gym, spa and wellness center, kid’s club and a multi-level basement parking will also be offered to hotel guests.

“The new Novotel hotel is just one of the transformation development plan within the commercial complex,” Araneta Group said.

“More developments are set to rise at the Araneta Center skyline, including additional residential condominium towers for Manhattan Garden City, mixed retail and office bolding Gateway Tower 2 and modern performing arts venue New Frontier,” Araneta Group said.

___________________________________________________________

Batangas Port beefs up role as trade hub

July 28, 2014 9:16 pm [ manilatimes.net ]

by Rosalie C. Periabras

The modern Batangas Container Terminal (BCT), managed by listed Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), continued to step up its role as trade facilitator in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) during the second quarter as it provided businesses with a viable port option amid trucking and logistics constraints imposed in Manila during the same period.

Emerging from a strong first quarter which saw cargo volume grow by 194 percent, BCT sustained its momentum into the second quarter as container throughput further accelerated, this time by as much as 254 percent. BCT’s container volume from January to June already surpassed its entire 2013 rate.

The performance of Batangas Port since the fourth quarter of 2013 to date has been exceptional, with volumes significantly rising even prior to Manila’s expanded truck ban – indicative of the natural shift toward Batangas for cargoes coming from Calabarzon as dictated by free market forces and customer preferences.

The shipments handled by BCT are bound for Calabarzon, the region meant to be specifically catered by the Batangas Port. Cargoes, moreover, are delivered and shipped out aboard an increasing number of international carriers now frequenting Batangas.

From two regular weekly ship calls, led by MCC Transport’s Intra-Asia 4 (IA4) and Philippine Feeder 4 (PH4) services, eight vessels are now servicing BCT, which connects Calabarzon shippers directly to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia and other key regional and global markets.

Just recently, ACX Diamond and ACX Pearl operated by NYK (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) Line successfully discharged containers from Japan in Batangas. Encouraged by strong market response, more international carriers are now keen on including BCT in their port rotations.

“We have a great product in Batangas Port which is fully equipped with all the industry expertise one could expect from an experienced Filipino port operator backed by global port leader DP World,” ATI executive vice president Andrew Hoad said in a statement.

The ATI official underlined that BCT is ready and capable of handling Calabarzon’s shipments given its complement of two modern quay cranes, four rubber-tired gantry cranes and other cargo handling equipment for an annual throughput capacity of 350,000 TEUs (twenty-footer equivalent units), enabling it to sufficiently accommodate Calabarzon’s current and future cargoes.

_________________________________________________________________

Vista Land allocates P50B to develop business district

Posted on July 27, 2014 09:49:00 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]

HOME BUILDER Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. said it has earmarked P50 billion for the development of a business district along Daang Hari on the southern edge of Metro Manila, part of an initiative to expand operations that earn a recurring income stream.

In a statement, the Villar-controlled company said its Vista City project is an integrated urban development with lifestyle, retail, residential, office and leisure components.

The project, which was launched on Saturday, covers a total of 1,500 hectares at the junction of Muntinlupa and Las Piñas cities as well as the provinces of Cavite and Laguna.

“The aim is for Vista City to attract residents in the upper, mid-range and starter home categories, and a range of commercial locators, businesses including BPOs (business process outsourcing) and IT (information technology)-heavy sectors, health care entities, leisure facilities, and innovative educational institutions such as corporate universities and schools for new technologies,” Vista Land Chairman and former senator Manny B. Villar was quoted in the statement as saying.

When finished, the mall and retail component will have a total gross floor area of 120,000 square meters, including the first phase -- the existing Evia Lifestyle Center which occupies five hectares.

The second phase, Evia Global Village, will have an open-air retail promenade and is set to be completed later this year.

Aside from a planned hotel component, construction is also underway for the phase one of Vista Hub, which will cover 10 hectares and is targeted to be one of the most advanced business and IT parks in the country. It is expected to be operational by the second half of 2016.

The central business district project is also expected to generate employment for residents of Las Piñas, Parañaque and other parts of southern Metro Manila, as well as the province of Cavite.

Vista Land’s first-quarter net income rose 11% to P1.5 billion, while revenue grew 12% to P5.4 billion.

On Friday, Vista Land shares shed three centavos or 0.50% to close at P5.95. -- Daphne J. Magturo           

_______________________________________________________________

Century Properties expands commercial business

Posted on July 23, 2014 11:13:33 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]      

LUXURY CONDOMINIUM developer Century Properties Group, Inc. is moving to expand its commercial leasing business further to ensure a “more stable and predictable” revenue stream in the coming years.

The company currently has six commercial projects with a total of more than 150,000 square meters (sq.m.) of leasable space that may generate up to P1 billion worth of revenue upon completion in 2019.

On the sidelines of the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday at the Century City Mall in Makati City, Century Properties Chief Financial Officer Jose Carlo R. Antonio said the company is targeting a 15% to 20% contribution from recurring income by 2019.

At present, recurring income accounts for only 2% to 3% of the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, he said.

The newly opened P1.4-billion Century City Mall -- which marked the company’s foray into the retail business last March -- is expected to bring in P100 million in income annually starting next year.

By the end of the year, the company will turn over its health care building -- the 28-storey Centuria Medical Makati in its master-planned development called Century City.

Other recurring income streams in the pipeline are the luxury tower Century Spire in Makati City, Forbes Media Tower, Asian Century Center in Bonifacio Global City, and the soon-to-be-launched Tower 6 of the Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong City.

Century Spire will house a combination of residential and office units, while the Forbes Media Tower and Asian Century Center -- located in Makati City and Bonifacio Global City, respectively -- are both office towers exclusively and are expected to benefit from the continuous growth of the business process outsourcing sector.

The Forbes Media Tower is a partnership with the Forbes Media Group, publisher of Forbes magazine, while Asian Century Center is a joint venture with Asian Carmakers Corp. It will house the largest showroom of upscale car brand BMW, as well as Asian Carmakers’ headquarters.

“The company is now evolving from being a top residential developer in Metro Manila to a leading well-diversified real estate developer with significant recurring and predictable revenue streams,” Century Properties Chairman Jose E.B. Antonio said.

In the past 28 years, Century Properties completed 25 condominiums with a total of 873,127 sq.m. and 8,777 units.

The company’s first-quarter net income rose 2% year on year to P513.062 million.

Consolidated revenue rose 10% to P2.85 billion, while revenue from real estate sales rose 8% to P2.39 billion.

Century Properties shares on Wednesday fell one centavo or 0.76% to close at P1.31. -- Daphne J. Magturo  

_________________________________________________________________