THE FIRST Westin-branded residences in Southeast Asia can be found in the heart of Ortigas Center in Pasig City.
Robinsons Land Corp., through its high-end brand Robinsons Luxuria,
developed The Residences at The Westin Manila Sonata Place within the
Sonata Place complex.
In a statement, RLC described The Residences, which is managed
by Marriott International, Inc., as a “vivid vision of daily world-class
leisure.”
The 50-storey residential condominium offers 344 units of one to
three bedrooms with sizes ranging from 47.29 square meters (sq.m.) to
254.77 sq.m. and penthouse units with size ranging from 234.25 sq.m. to
249.22 sq.m. Unit prices start from P11.4 million to P58.2 million.
Each unit will feature Westin hotel signatures such as the Westin
Heavenly bed and Westin Heavenly shower, as well as the Westin
SuperFoodsRX menu.
Amenities include a business lounge, function rooms, meeting rooms,
boardroom, an entertainment lounge, a wine room, a private theater,
playroom, a golf simulation room, a pool, and fitness facilities.
AMAIA LAND Corp. is offering flexible payment options, including
Pag-IBIG financing, to prospective homeowners at Amaia Scapes Capas in
Tarlac.
Located along the MacArthur Highway in Brgy. Estrada, Amaia Scapes
Capas is currently has 114 available units, ranging from Twin Homes and
Bungalow Pods to Twin Pods and Multi Pods. Lots are also available.
Homeowners can make a minimum 5% downpayment, spread over six
months, with the 95% balance to be settled through Pag-IBIG financing
(based on prevailing interest rates).
To avail of Pag-IBIG financing, locally employed applicants must
provide a certificate of Employment and compensation (original and
notarized once for application); latest one-month pay slip; most recent
Income Tax Returns; latest proof of billing address; birth
certificate/marriage contracts; 2 valid IDs (spouses); Pag-IBIG
ID/Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card/Members Data Form (online application); and 3
pieces of 1×1 ID photos.
For overseas Filipino workers, applicants have to present a valid
employment contract; latest one-month pay slip; valid passport; valid ID
of SPA; Special Power of Attorney (Pag-IBIG format); latest proof of
billing address; birth certificate/marriage contracts; Pag-IBIG
ID/Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card/Members Data Form (online application); and 3
pieces 1×1 ID photos.
By Francis Anthony T. ValentinSpecial Features Assistant Editor
Aspire Corporate Plaza to be completed by 2020
1 of 3
GOLDEN BAY Fresh Landholdings, Inc. is looking to complete the
construction of Aspire Corporate Plaza, its P2-billion office building
in the Pasay City section of the Manila Bay Area, by 2020, earlier than
initially planned.
The project was originally slated for completion in early 2021,
Jardin Brian B. Wong, chief operating officer of Golden Bay, said at a
press briefing on Feb. 21.
“We started developing the property even though we didn’t have any
sale. That represents our confidence in the project,” he said.
Touted as the “first and only property in the Macapagal Bay Area to
sell office spaces,” Aspire Corporate Plaza is aimed primarily at small
and medium-sized enterprises, especially those in places like Binondo in
Manila and those that prefer to own an office space rather than only
leasing it.
“We offer them a chance to own their units in the booming Bay Area,”
Mr. Wong said. “In the years to come, more and more people will see the
benefits of relocating here. They’ll see the benefits of having
relocated to an area closest to the airports and closest to key
expressways.”
Golden Bay enlisted several firms, including Megawide Construction
Corp., Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp., ASYA Design
Partner and Meinhardt Philippines, Inc., to put together the structure
on a 3,500 square meter-property behind its food business, Golden Bay
Fresh Seafood Restaurant, on Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.
“Once we asked them to go full blast at an earlier time, kinaya nila,” Mr. Wong said.
Construction of the 10-story structure began early last year. Mr.
Wong said the topping off would be held this year and the turning over
of the units to the owners in 2020.
Part of the reason for fast tracking of the building is that their
company is going to transfer there from its office in Binondo. “We
personally bought a handful of units,” Mr. Wong said.
Aspire units have been selling briskly. “We sold already around 40 [units],” Mr. Wong told BusinessWorld
on the sidelines of the briefing last Thursday. Their buyers include
manufacturing, logistics and construction companies. An office unit
starts at around P250,000 per square meter.
Golden Bay conducted a two-day open house earlier this month to
generate sales as well as buzz for its office building that will feature
a sky garden, six high-speed passenger elevators and a parking space
for 261 vehicles. Another one is scheduled to take place on March 9 and
10.
MEGAWIDE CONSTRUCTION Corp. was one of the most actively traded
stocks in the Philippine Stock Exchange last week on account of the
attractiveness of the company’s future growth prospects according to
analysts.
A total of 38.48 million shares worth P763.98 million exchanged
hands on the trading floor from Feb. 26 to March 1, data from the
Philippine Stock Exchange showed.
Megawide shares closed at P19.48 apiece on Friday, down 2.6% from the
previous day. On a week-on-week basis, the stock price is up 3.1%. Year
to date, it is up 7.2%.
“Megawide’s disclosures on its future projects this past few weeks
were good news,” said A&A Securities, Inc.’s trader Jeng T. Calma.
UPCC Securities Corp. equity trader Aristotle D. Reyes, Jr. was of a
similar assessment. In particular, he cited the news that mass housing
developer 8990 Holdings, Inc. tapped Megawide to build its horizontal
housing project in Meycauyan, Bulacan.
“[This is] a good addition to the construction segment of Megawide,
which saw a slowdown [in revenues] last year due to delays in permits
and contracts. So I expect a good pick up this year as the delayed
projects last year will start this year. So for investors, this is quite
an assurance that the good earnings will continue and sustainable,” Mr.
Reyes said.Last Wednesday, Megawide signed a memorandum of agreement
with 8990 Holdings to construct about 5,000 townhouses in the latter’s
41-hectare Deca Homes Meycauayan in Barangay Saluysoy, Bulacan.
On Feb. 22, the engineering and infrastructure conglomerate signed a
similar deal with PHirst Park Homes, Inc. for the use of the former’s
precast technology to build more than 1,800 homes in Lipa, Batangas.
Although the stock’s price dropped last Friday, A&A Securities’
Ms. Calma said that it was only a technical matter. “Since it was on an
uptrend for how many days, some investors who bought at a lower price
were profit taking,” she said.
A&A’s Ms. Calma said that Megawide is a good buy in the long
term, pointing to the company’s share buyback program in addition to its
future projects inked this year and last year.
For UPCC’s Mr. Reyes, Megawide has a “very promising” growth, citing
its Cebu airport and Parañaque terminal projects, as well as potential
projects from the government.
“The company is doing a very good job in its Mactan, Cebu airport
which continues to surpass target tourist arrivals that resulted to more
than expected earnings growth. Different business groups and the
government lauded Megawide for its hard work to market Cebu to tourists
around the world. Recently they added new direct flight routes to China
and other countries, which will result in more tourist arrivals in the
province,” he said, referring to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport
(MCI), which is operated by Megawide’s joint venture with GMR
Infrastructure, Ltd.
Mr. Reyes also mentioned that three out of four of its towers at the
Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) has already been leased
out.
PITX, a P2.5-billion terminal built by Megawide’s subsidiary MWM
Terminals, Inc., opened early November last year. The terminal is
expected to receive an average foot traffic of 100,000 a day but is
expendable to 200,000 passengers daily.
“This will give Megawide huge recurring income which makes the income
more stable, less cyclical,” he said. “For the construction segment, we
project it will pick up especially that the government is starting to
roll out major infrastructure projects that will spur growth for
infrastructure/construction industry.”
Mr. Reyes also noted that the stock has consistently benefited from foreign buying since Feb. 18.
“Megawide has been actively traded because of foreign funds… This
means foreign investors sees a lot of potential in the company,” said
Mr. Reyes.
Megawide’s net income attributable to parent fell by four percent to
P1.32 billion in the first nine months of 2018 compared to P1.38 billion
in the same period in 2017.
Revenues dropped by 11% to P12.746 billion, weighed down by the 17%
decline in revenues from the construction segment. Revenues from airport
operations jumped 26% to P2.180 billion, as the MCIA saw double-digit
growth in passenger volume.
For this week, A&A’s Ms. Calma has placed Megawide’s strong support at P18 per share while resistance at P19 per share.
“Support and resistance will be P19 per share and P20.50 per share, respectively,” UPCC’s Mr. Reyes said. — Carmina Angelica V. Olano
MORE property firms are building office spaces within transportation hubs, as a way to maximize space.
Commercial real estate services company Cushman & Wakefield
Philippines said office spaces are now being developed within or near
transportation hubs in Metro Manila.
“Another new concept may be how they are building offices near or on
top, actually, of transportation hubs that are being built, like for
example we have for Ayala, and then we also have the one for Parañaque
Integrated Terminal Exchange, so there would be an office component to
that as well,” Francis Adrian H. Viernes, manager of research and
consultancy of Cushman & Wakefield Philippines, said in an interview
with BusinessWorld last month.
In recent years, developers have also allocated office spaces within
shopping malls, giving people the convenience of working in a place
where they can also shop, eat and relax.
“This has been an arrangement that we’ve seen in few years. There are
office portions being added to retail developments, like for example
the case for SM, for (Megaworld’s) Uptown, it’s the usual scenario… and
it’s not likely to change in the next years,” Mr. Viernes said.
At the same time, Cushman & Wakefield expects demand for office
space this year to be driven by business process outsourcing (BPO)
companies.
“The information technology and business process management sector,
or IT-BPM will continue to take a huge chunk of office demand in 2019,”
Mr. Viernes said, after a slowdown in the sector in 2017.
“For 2018, (IT-BPM) has regained a bit of strength, and for 2019
we’re expecting that to continue because all the uncertainties that we
had when it comes to like the fiscal incentives, because of the policies
that were being laid out, all the uncertainties have not provided
anything that could negatively affect the business, so far,” he added.
The Philippines remains one of the top destinations for outsourcing
firms. In Tholon’s Top 100 Outsourcing Destination for 2018, Manila and
Cebu ranked second and 11th, respectively.
Aside from the Filipinos’ proficiency in English, outsourcing firms
flock to the Philippines since office rental rates are significantly
lower than Singapore or Hong Kong.
The government’s massive infrastructure program “Build, Build, Build” has also been a magnet for foreign investors.
“’Yung massive infrastructure spending, it’s actually making
some global noise… Those are seen as positive and progressive by foreign
investors,” Mr. Viernes said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
THE local bourse has implemented new measures that will keep it
within the prescribed broker ownership limit, in line with the single
industry rule under the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) said in a statement over
the weekend that it has included real-time broker ownership monitoring
through the trading system. This automatically prevents trading
participants from placing a buy order for PSE shares should their
accounts exceed the 20% limit for broker industry ownership.
Item C of Section 33.2 of the SRC states that “no person may
beneficially own or control, directly or indirectly, more than five
percent (5%) of the voting rights of the Exchange and no industry or
business group may beneficially own or control, directly or indirectly,
more than twenty percent (20%) of the voting rights of the Exchange.”
“We intend to observe the prescribed broker ownership limit in PSE by
putting in place safeguards that will help us with this goal,” PSE
President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon was quoted as
saying in a statement.
Other measures include the regular updating of brokerage firms’
Customer Account Information Form, to disclose the relationship of
clients to other trading participants, such as the directors, officers,
and principal stockholders.
The PSE will monitor the accounts of related persons of broker
dealers, including their subsidiaries and affiliates, directors,
officers, principal stockholders, and nominees to the PSE, as well as
their spouses and relative up to the fourth civil degree of
consanguinity.
The exchange has earlier proposed to amend the PSE Rules Governing
Trading Rights and Trading Participants, asking trading participants to
abide by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Rules Governing
Trading of PSE shares.
This entails penalties of up to P300,000, in addition to suspension
of trading operations for at least five days for the third and
subsequent offense.
“While we have identified the appropriate measures to ensure that
broker ownership remains below 20 percent, we call on our trading
participants to help and support us in ensuring that the legal
requirements are strictly observed,” Mr. Monzon said.
The PSE initiated efforts to bring down broker ownership in 2017,
when it was still working on getting the SEC’s approval for its proposed
acquisition of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDSHC).
The PSE-PDSHC merger, however, is not likely to push, through as the
state-run Land Bank of the Philippines also intends to purchase the
fixed-income exchange with the backing of the Department of Finance. — Arra B. Francia
