Posted on March 27, 2015 08:14:00 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
By Daphne J. Magturo, Reporter
LISTED developer Sta. Lucia Land, Inc.
on Friday said it entered into 16 new joint venture agreements and acquired
several properties outside Metro Manila, in line with plans to purchase up to
1,000 hectares (ha) of land this year.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange,
Sta. Lucia said the new partnerships allowed it to expand its landbank by
142.33 hectares (ha) in Davao, Rizal, Pasig, Batangas and Laguna.
The company also acquired a total of
34.53 hectares in the provinces of Batangas and Iloilo.
“This is a testament to the continuing
commitment of the company in focusing its projects in emerging and growing
cities nationwide,” Sta. Lucia said.
Some of the projects are “extensions
of existing developments,” such as Ponte Verde in Davao, Greenwoods Executive
in Pasig, Metropolis East in Rizal, Golden Meadows in Laguna and Metropolis in
Iloilo.
“We have new acquisitions almost every
quarter. This year, we want to acquire up to 500 ha to 1,000 ha of land,” Sta.
Lucia Chief Financial Officer David M. Dela Cruz said in a phone interview
yesterday.
Asked about the joint venture model,
he explained: “For example, we’re offered a 100-hectare lot and we develop it
into 1,000 saleable lots. The ownership could be 50-50 or 60-40. The partner’s
contribution is the land, and ours is development. We split the development
according to the agreement.”
Originally incorporated in 1996 as
Zipporah Mining and Industrial Corp., Sta. Lucia changed its primary purpose to
that of a real estate company in 1996. Its portfolio consists of horizontal and
vertical properties across the country, as well as a shopping mall in Cainta --
the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall.
Shares in the
company shed two centavos or 2.35% to end the week at 83 centavos apiece. --
with report from Krista Angela Montealegre
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