Posted on
July 01, 2015 10:41:00 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
By Daphne J.
Magturo, Reporter
FILINVEST
Land, Inc. (FLI) yesterday said it won the bidding for a 19.2-hectare lot in
Cebu’s South Road Properties for P6.76 billion, joining two other property
behemoths -- Ayala and SM groups -- that are developing portions of the
300-hectare economic zone.
Filinvest
Land, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lourdes Josephine Gotianun-Yap (center)
gestures during a press briefing in this file photo. The listed builder
announced on Wednesday it bought a 19.2-hectare lot within an economic zone in
Cebu. -- WWW.INTERAKSYON.COM
“We would
like to inform you that Filinvest Land, Inc., including its subsidiaries and
affiliates, won in the bidding conducted by the Cebu City Government for Lot
No. 1 (Consolidated Portions of Lots 7 and 17) containing an area of 192,385
square meters (sq.m.), more or less, located at South Road Properties, Cebu
City,” the Gotianun-led firm told the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.
FLI will own
and develop the property, along with its office development subsidiary
Cyberzone Properties, Inc., its Central Business District affiliate Filinvest
Alabang, Inc. and “other possible strategic partners,” according to the
disclosure.
The listed
builder said 70% of the property will be developed into an office and retail
strip, while the remaining 30% will be for residential use.
“The new
development will complement the ongoing City di Mare project of FLI in [South
Road Properties],” the disclosure read.
City di Mare
is the group’s 50.4-hectare mixed-use development within the sprawling Cebu
ecozone, with residential, lifestyle, and retail components.
FLI’s news
came a day after a team-up of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and Ayala Land, Inc.
announced having bagged a separate deal to jointly develop a 26.34-hectare lot,
also within South Road Properties, for P10 billion.
That Cebu
property venture marks the two erstwhile rivals’ third partnership that will
see them combine their “financial muscle, technical expertise and real estate
experience.”
According to
its Web site, the City of Cebu owns and developed South Road Properties,
through a ¥12-billion overseas development assistance package from the Japan
Bank for International Cooperation.
The property
was initially conceptualized to host export-oriented light industries, but
evolved into a mixed-use area. It was granted a Special Economic Zone status by
the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, which meant it can have
agro-industrial, recreational, banking, investment, financial center and
commercial components.
FLI increased
its capital expenditure budget to P24 billion this year from P15 billion in
2014 with plans to launch P16.2 billion worth of residential projects.
The company
wants to triple its gross leasable area to 966,000 sq.m. by 2019 from 343,000
sq.m. last year.
By next year,
recurring income is expected to account for as much as 40% of FLI’s business
compared to 30% in 2013, as it starts to recognize the contribution of
commercial and office projects launched in previous years, FLI President and
Chief Executive Officer Lourdes Josephine Gotianun-Yap said on May 8.
Shares in the
company gained two centavos or 1.08% to end Wednesday trading at P1.88 apiece.
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