Filinvest sees rise in sales this year

MANILA, Philippines—Gotianun-led property developer Filinvest Land Inc. expects sales to rise in 2011 as it plans to accelerate expansion through higher spending compared to that of last year.

The company said the property market was still in the early stages of an upswing and that demand, particularly from the low to mid income sectors, would continue to grow amid the country’s massive housing backlog.

“If you look at the trends, the real estate market started to pick up in 2007, but there was a pause in 2008 and 2009 due to the global recession. So it’s just coming back and we are still just at the start,” Filinvest president Joseph Yap said.

“We do not see prices ballooning the way they did during the Asian Crisis a decade ago,” Yap told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting yesterday.

Last year, the company’s revenue from sales reached P10 billion.

“Our target is to surpass that this year,” Yap said. “This year will still be a good year for the property sector.”

As a result, the company’s net earnings in 2010 hit P2.95 billion—up 46 percent year-on-year.

Strong demand for new homes has been partly driven by the availability of cheap loans from banks.

This year, Filinvest has set aside P12 billion for capital expenditures to fund the construction of new projects and the expansion of existing ones. This amount is more than double what the company spent last year.

Yap said the company would launch four low-cost housing projects, six “affordable” projects and two mid-rise residential developments this year, which would translate to P13 billion worth of sales once completed.

Also, Yap said the company would expand its available space for leasing activities by over a third in the next 24 months.

The amount of space the company has available for leasing contributes 31 percent to earnings.

For more details on Filinvest projects, you may contact Reby Ramirez @ +63 919.699.3572 / +63 922.883.9308 / +63 916.4044.555 / +632 404-4534 or e-mail her @ reby_ramirez@yahoo.com.

Lastly, FYI for related information on the new real estate law, RA 9646, please proceed to www.RA9646.com, the online repository of updated information on Real Estate Service Act of 2009 (RESA).

source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 15 2011

Filinvest eyes power generation, other projects under PPP

MANILA, Philippines - Filinvest Development Corp., the listed investment holding firm of the family of businessman Andrew Gotianun, is interested in the Public-Private Partnership projects being offered by the government.

FDC president Josephine Gotianun-Yap said the group is looking at some PPP projects, particularly on power generation, and expects to announce concrete plans in the next three to six months.

The local government is preparing 80 infrastructure-related projects worth about P740 billion. A handful of these may be auctioned off within the year.

The group has formed Strong Field Gas & Electric Corp., with an initial authozed capital of P16 million, to serve as its corporate vehicle for its venture into the power business.

FDC’s diversification into the power generation business will start with two coal-fired power plants planned in the Visayas and Mindanao with a total capacity of 300 megawatts.

FDC is in the process of applying for permits from the relevant governmental and regulatory authorities and is in negotiations with potential equipment suppliers and potential power off-takers with respect to each project.

With respect to the potential power project in the Visayas, FDC is also conducting a feasibility study with respect to a potential water desalination facility at the same site that would be operated using off-peak power from the proposed power plant.

The Filinvest Group is one of the country’s leading conglomerates, with interests in real estate through Filinvest Land, financial and banking services (East West Banking Corp.) and sugar manufacturing through Pacific Sugar Holdings.

Filinvest Land Inc., FDC’s 51 percent owned property unit, develops affordable and mid-income housing projects as well as tourism-related projects.

FDC also has 91 percent effective ownership in Filinvest Alabang Inc., developer of Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang – the premiere urban district in South Metro Manila.

East West is one of the fastest growing commercial banks with one of the highest return on equity in the Philippine banking sector while Pacific Sugar operates two sugar mills and two sugar refineries, and has corporate sugarcane farming operations.

The Filinvest Group has been in the residential business for over 45 years and has developed over 2,000 hectares of raw land into homes for more than 110,000 families, as well as over 600,000 square meters of office/retail and high-rise residential space.

For related information on the new real estate law, RA 9646, please proceed to www.ra9646.com, the online repository of updated information on Real Estate Service Act of 2009 (RESA).

source: Philippine Star, Apr 18 2011