Posted on 09:22 PM, December 02, 2010 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
PROPERTY giant Ayala Land, Inc. wants to secure and develop a 6.5-hectare prime property in Quezon City that formerly hosted the offices of a state-run charity institution.
Ayala Land can develop the area into a mixed-use complex, the firm’s top executive said.
“There is no final signing on that...we are very interested about it,” Ayala Land President Antonino T. Aquino told reporters. “It will be a growth center as far as we are concerned,” Mr. Aquino added.
The property is on E. Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue in Quezon City. It housed the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) before the state institution moved to Pasay City in October. The PCSO had said the building would be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake.
Mr. Aquino said Ayala Land wanted a development with an “overall” approach. “Generally, every time Ayala makes a move, it always has something to do with a format of mixed uses,” he added.
Mixed-use developments of Ayala Land include the Ayala Center in Makati and the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig -- composed of residential buildings, hotels, office spaces and malls.
Meanwhile, the company is looking at raising funds for acquisitions through traditional lending mechanisms.
“You have a lot of opportunity now in the capital market. We will make use of those available types of offerings in the market today,” Mr. Aquino said, referring to bank loans and bonds amid low interest rates.
“We will be borrowing what we need for perceived acquisitions and of course what you need for project construction,” Mr. Aquino added.
Meanwhile, Ayala Land is interested in a number of public-private partnership (PPP) projects of the government. “We should be looking at things that will have a positive impact on the growth centers that we have,” Mr. Aquino said.
“The interconnection of our various growth centers is what is interesting to us,” he added.
On Nov. 18, the government presented its list of 80 PPP projects worth P740 billion. Ten projects worth P127.8 billion will be bid out next year.
The property giant on Wednesday announced it would raise P10 billion from corporate notes and extend the maturity of P1.8 billion of existing notes.
Shares in Ayala Land, whose profits surged by 35% to P3.94 billion in the nine months that ended in September, closed P0.18 higher at P16.22 each yesterday. -- N. J. C. Morales
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