Posted on July 04, 2014 08:05:25 PM [
BusinessWorld Online ]
A NEWLY acquired subsidiary of
Megaworld Corp., the flagship unit of property developer Andrew L. Tan’s
Alliance Global Group, Inc., is looking at P2 billion in potential sales from
its subdivision in Southwoods City, amid high demand for residential lots.
In a statement, Megaworld said the
fast take-up of lots in Pahara -- the residential village inside the
561-hectare township adjoining parts of Cavite and Laguna -- had pushed them to
launch the project’s second and third phases six months ahead of schedule.
An external public relations officer
said in a phone interview on Friday that the second and third phases of the
firm’s largest township were launched in March and May, respectively.
Currently, the whole village is
already 75% sold. It is being developed by Global Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI),
Megaworld’s newly acquired tourism estate company.
"The great location of Southwoods
City is one of the primary reasons that our buyers would tell us why they
prefer to purchase residential lots at Pahara," Megaworld Global-Estate,
Inc. Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Rachelle Peñaflorida was quoted in
the statement as saying.
GERI is set to invest P10 billion for
the development of Southwoods City into a business and leisure complex that
will feature a cyberpark, hotel and resort, commercial and retail hubs,
environment-friendly office towers, residential condominiums, and sports and
leisure facilities.
For its part, Megaworld will lend its
"sustainable blueprint" in the design, conceptualization, and master
planning of the township. It will also manage the office towers and commercial
components of the township’s cyberpark area.
Southwoods City will have its own
lifestyle mall, Southwoods Mall, with a supermarket, cinemas, dining and
specialty shops. It has close to seven hectares of leasable space that will
begin operations by the fourth quarter of 2016, providing the company with a
"bigger base" of recurring income.
On June 20, Megaworld completed its
purchase of Mr. Tan’s Alliance Global Group, Inc.’s 49.20% stake in GERI,
increasing to 80.4% its total stake in GERI.
Formerly Fil-Estate Land, Inc., GERI’s
diversified portfolio of integrated projects includes residential subdivision
lots, residential communities integrated with golf, resort and other
leisure-related projects, business park and low cost housing.
Its subsidiaries are Fil-Estate Properties,
Inc., Fil-Estate Golf and Development, Inc., Fil-Estate Urban Development
Corp., Novo Sierra Holdings Corp., Twin Lakes Corp., Megaworld Global-Estate,
Inc. (MGEI); and Oceanfront Properties, Inc.
GERI also owns 20% of four marketing
companies: Fil-Estate Realty Corp., Fil-Estate Network, Inc., Fil-Estate Sales,
Inc., and Fil-Estate Realty Sales Associates, Inc., which used to market GERI’s
old projects before MGEI was formed.
GERI’s first quarter net income rose
26.78% to P102.64 million, as gross revenue similarly soared 46.12% to P639.9
million. Costs and expenses increased 52.35% to P493.61 million.
GERI’s shares gained six centavos or
3% to end at P2.06 apiece on Friday trading.
Shares in its parent firm Megaworld
added eight centavos or 1.78% to close at P4.58 from P4.50 on Thursday. --
Daphne J. Magturo
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