Megaworld maintains triple-A issuer rating

INQUIRER - Local debt watcher Credit Rating and Investors Services Philippines Inc. (Crisp) on Friday reaffirmed its “AAA” issuer rating for property developer Megaworld Corp.

In a statement, Crisp said that its rating on the publicly listed firm reflected the company’s “sustained levels of strong business performance, dominance in high-growth segments of the real estate market and an effective land-banking strategy.”

“Crisp assigned a stable credit outlook for Megaworld’s issuer rating as [we] continue to believe that Megaworld’s continued strong business performance and a positive real estate industry outlook, particularly for the BPO market, will be sustained,” the debt watcher added.

In its most recent disclosure, Megaworld reported a 14.8-percent increase in core net income, boosted by its continued growth in real estate sales and robust office rental income. In the first half of 2012, Megaworld’s real estate sales and rental income grew 10 percent and 38.5 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2011. Real estate sales and rental income make up 75 percent of Megaworld’s total revenues.

A recent report by CB Richard Ellis Philippines had Megaworld topping the competitive real estate market with a 15.6-percent and 16.5-percent share, respectively, of the total residential condominium units and aggregate saleable area brought on line from 2000 to 2011.

Megaworld has developed 1.9 million square meters over the same period, the ratings firm said. This year, anticipated challenges from competitors would cause Megaworld’s market share to decline slightly, but was expected to remain on top in both categories, it added.

Crisp credited Megaworld’s effective land-banking strategy that gave it access to approximately 180 hectares of land in strategic locations in Metro Manila, allowing it “to meet the growing market demand and stiff competition for real estate buyers and office locators.”

Controlled by real estate and gaming tycoon Andrew Tan, the firm has earmarked P25 billion for capital spending this year.

For latest update on real estate development and its RA 9646, the Real Estate Service Act of 2009, visit www.ra9646.com.

Megaworld, Filinvest post strong H1 profits

ABS-CBN - Property developers Megaworld Corp. and Filinvest Land Inc. reported strong profits in the first half of the year, on sustained residential real estate sales.

Tycoon Andrew Tan's Megaworld posted a core net income of P3.69 billion in the first six months of 2012 up 15% from P3.21 billion a year ago, on the back of strong residential real estate sales and BPO office rental portfolios.

Megaworld's consolidated revenues were up 12% to P15.43 billion. Rental income from its BPO office and retail developments jumped 39% to P2.26 billion.

Megaworld Senior Vice President Francis Canuto attributed the results to "the strength of the company’s business model."

Meanwhile, Filinvest Land's net income rose 19% to P1.525 billion in the first half, fueled by the real estate sales and rental income.

Real estate sales rose 28% increase P3.838 billion in the six months of the year, from P2.994 billion a year ago. Sales take-up in the first half hit P6.89 billion, 21% higher than the same period last year.

In the second quarter of 2012, Filinvest launched P4.5 billion worth of projects, including 2 in Havila, Rizal - Primrose Townhomes and The Enclave at Highlands Pointe, as well as additional phases in existing subdivisions and mid-rise buildings Capri Oasis and Sorrento Oasis in Pasig, and Sanremo Oasis in Cebu.

Rental income from Festival Supermall, PBCom Tower and Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest Corporate City contributed P854 million to total revenues, 16% higher than a year ago.

Filinvest's total revenues went up 24% to P5.209 billion in the January to June period.

For more details on Megaworld projects, you may e-mail reby_ramirez@yahoo.com or contact her at 0922.883.9308 / 0916.4044.555 / 0919.699.3572 / 4044-534.

For latest update on real estate development and its RA 9646, the Real Estate Service Act of 2009, visit www.ra9646.com.

Empire East converts preferred stocks into common shares

Businessworld - PROPERTY FIRM Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. has converted a block of preferred shares into common shares ahead of a planned stocks rights offer.

The firm converted 285,723,080 series “B” preferred shares into same number of common shares.

“[The conversion] resulted into 10,908,215,404 issued common shares inclusive of treasury shares and 10,780,959,333 outstanding common shares,” the firm said in its disclosure.

Conversion price was at P1 per share.

The firm could not be reached for further details.

The conversion comes after Empire East approved a preemptive stock rights offer on May 5, wherein the company will offer one new share for every four shares held by existing stockholders.

The stock rights offer will be used to raise funds for land banking, project development, and other general corporate purposes.

Proceeds from the stock rights offer, expected to amount to approximately P2.6 billion, will be used to fund Empire East’s estimated P3-billion capital budget this year.

The stock rights offering is expected to commence sometime in the third quarter, earlier reports stated.

Its parent firm Megaworld Corp. has pledged to buy any remaining shares unsold after its stock rights offer.

On July 16, Empire East inked a joint venture with the Japan-based Okada Group for the development of a P45-billion upscale condominium complex in the Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City, firming up its foray into luxury property development.

It will assume majority stake in the Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc. and Eagle 1 Landholdings, Inc.

The developer is also one of many firms interested in the 120-hectare, state-owned Food Terminal, Inc. agri-industrial complex in Taguig City that is slated for bidding next month.

Shares of Empire East were unchanged at 86 centavos each yesterday.

For more details on Empire East projects, you may e-mail reby_ramirez@yahoo.com or contact her at 0922.883.9308 / 0916.4044.555 / 0919.699.3572 / 4044-534.

For latest update on real estate development and its RA 9646, the Real Estate Service Act of 2009, visit www.ra9646.com.

Global Estate’s ‘Newcoast’ Will Raise The Bar Of Tourist Experience

Manila Bulletin - August 6, 2012, 6:00pm

OCEANWAY Residences is the first residential condo cluster at Boracay Newcoast.

It was only a matter of time. From No. 4 last year, Boracay Island has surged to No. 1 island in the world, according to British magazine Travel + Leisure.

With an aggregate score of 93.10, Boracay bested runner-up Bali and the previous year’s champion, Santorini, which was relegated to sixth place. Adding to its accolade, Boracay was also named Asia’s Best Island, topping perennial favorites Bali and Phuket. The 2012 poll was conducted among the magazine’s jet-setting subscribers and the awards were held last July 19 at the Conrad Flagship Hotel in New York City.
It is likely that majority of the 700,000 foreign tourists who visited Boracay on the first half of the year – a 41 percent rise over the same period in 2011 – thoroughly enjoyed their stay and had a lasting impression of the island, that is why Boracay achieved such lofty status.

Such acclaim and the continued influx of tourists will only mean two things. First, Boracay will become a more popular destination worldwide with all the goodwill from top publications like Travel + Leisure plus good word-of-mouth from millions of past visitors. Second, more hotels must be built over the next few years to accommodate the rising number of tourists and delight them with the best of Filipino hospitality.

One expansive project within Boracay will help the island reach its true tourism potential. Boracay Newcoast on the island’s eastern side will rise as its first fully master-planned tourist hub. Covering 140 hectares and an estimated 14 percent of the island’s total area, Boracay Newcoast boasts of its own private beach coves with a one-kilometer white sand beachfront.

According to Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI) Vice President for Marketing and project head Abraham Mercado, “Boracay Newcoast has been master planned to raise the bar of tourist experience.” GERI is the developer behind Boracay Newcoast and is the tourism arm of Filipino tycoon Andrew Tan.

Five international and local hotels are set to be built within Boracay Newcoast and add 1,500 hotel suites to Boracay’s room inventory. More rooms will be added once investors start to operate their lodging offerings at Boracay Newcoast’s Boutique Hotel district.  Their guests will also enjoy access to a private beach cove.
One of Boracay Newcoast’s hotels is set to transform Boracay into the Ibiza of Asia. Home to Boracay’s first and only pool concert arena, Savoy Hotel will host various electronic dance music festivals and concerts. Overlooking the pool and bar area is a 400-sqm dance roof deck capping a row of commercial establishments.

Oceanway Residences, the first residential condominium cluster in Boracay, enjoys a prime location tucked between two greens of Fairways & Bluewater -- the only championship golf course in the island – with resplendent views of the private white beach coves and Sibuyan Sea.

Over at the Shophouse District, tourists can stock up on Boracay souvenirs, dine on the freshest seafood, or schedule a dive to check out the island’s marine treasures, among others.

Guests who fall in love with the Boracay experience may opt for a permanent home at Newcoast Village, Boracay Newcoast’s only exclusive gated village.  Mercado recommended that lot buyers take inspiration from the ocean villas in Bali, Phuket and Santorini to design their homes.

He added that with a capital-intensive and highly marketable project like Boracay Newcoast, Boracay’s long-term viability and tourism appeal are ensured for the long term.

And just as Boracay’s standing has surged within the global tourism industry, so does GERI, as the company reported an increase in reservation sales to P3 billion for the first five months of the year during its annual stockholders meeting last June 28. This means that investors have warmed up to the potential of integrated tourism projects like Boracay Newcoast, Mercado concluded.

For more details on Boracay Newcoast and other Megaworld projects, you may e-mail reby_ramirez@yahoo.com or contact her at 0922.883.9308 / 0916.4044.555 / 0919.699.3572 / 4044-534.

For latest update on real estate development and its RA 9646, the Real Estate Service Act of 2009, visit www.ra9646.com.

Uptown Ritz: Glitz, glamour and all that jazz

THE 45-story Uptown Ritz is an epitome of luxury and convenience.

A spectacle of coats and ties, overflowing wines and Broadway-like fanfare regaled guests in a red carpet affair held recently by Megaworld Corp. to launch its latest project, the Uptown Ritz.

Displaying the glitz and glamour of the high society, Megaworld Corp. showed guests exactly the kind of lifestyle that awaits the future residents of the 45-story Uptown Ritz Residence, the company’s first all-suites condominium project within the 15-hectare township at the Bonifacio Global City.

Surely, this Megaworld project will yet again tickle the fancy, pique the interest and catch the discerning eye of any affluent Filipino homebuyer.

Upping the ante

UPTOWN Ritz’s worry-free play area is a welcome treat for homeowners.

“Uptown Ritz is our second development in Uptown Bonifacio which is a 15-hectare township project. With this development, we are continuing the trend of setting the benchmarks, which epitomize luxury and convenience. We are again upping the ante by allowing you to buy into the uptown lifestyle,” said Noli D. Hernandez, senior vice president for sales and marketing of Megaworld.

This particular development, which will have only six to 10 units per floor—thus assuring future residents of utmost privacy and ultimate exclusivity—is a reflection of the improving economic climate in the country, according to Hernandez.

“People—our buyers—are moving up. This development is targeted to meet the needs of the young successful individual. We also found out that there is a growing demand for bigger units and so we feel that a lot of our previous buyers, who bought smaller units, are now ready to move up to bigger ones,” he further explained.

Units at the Uptown Ritz Residence, which will be turned over by mid-2017, will not have the standard studio and one-bedroom unit, but will instead offer a more spacious two-bedroom, three-bedroom and even four-bedroom suites that will truly satisfy one’s desire of living in comfort and style.

MEGAWORLD Corp. is once again upping the ante by allowing more Filipinos to buy into the uptown lifestyle.

More than ample space

“When you talk about luxury mostly it’s about space, so here we offer more than ample space. Also in Megaworld we don’t just turn over units. We don’t just develop buildings. We build and create communities,” Hernandez claimed.

“So when you buy from us you don’t just end up with units with four walls. You actually buy into a lifestyle, a community and that is what sets us apart,” he noted.

Hernandez pointed out what Megaworld has done at the Forbes Town Center, in McKinley Hill and in Eastwood, where the company had “practically transformed the entire area into something glitzy and glamourous. And we have done the same for Newport.”

The Uptown, he added, is the latest incarnation of Megaworld’s live-work-play-learn concept.

All Megaworld property developments perfectly integrate residential, office, commercial and school components that ultimately define today’s vibrant lifestyle. And this is evident in the relaxing, sophisticated lifestyle experience that the Uptown Ritz will evoke, with its contemporary architecture that will showcase a striking glass and aluminum façade.

P4.1B in sales

The Uptown Ritz, which is expected to generate about P4.1 billion in sales, will likewise provide future residents a bevy of premium amenities, which will be located on the building’s first eight floors, and is sure to set the word luxury a notch higher.

At the lower deck of the seventh floor, future residents will enjoy numerous leisure activities while using the lap pool, children’s pool, lanai and outdoor area, pool deck, wooden deck, children’s play area and nursery room, spacious function room and business center.

The fitness center meanwhile  is located at the upper deck of the seventh floor, while a worry-free zone will be dedicated for your kids at the Nursery room on the upper deck as well. The 2nd to 6th floors will be reserved for parking spaces.

The Uptown Ritz is also strategically and conveniently located near key establishments such as St. Luke’s Medical Center, International School Manila, British International School and Makati CBD. The nearby three-story Uptown Mall which would house high-end dining and shopping areas would definitely complete the upscale living experience the said development aims to provide.

“I cannot imagine a more luxurious lifestyle than this, having everything within your reach. Uptown Ritz is the latest manifestation of that drive to raise the bar of lifestyle living,” Hernandez concluded.

For more details on Uptown Ritz, you may e-mail reby_ramirez@yahoo.com or contact her at 0922.883.9308 / 0916.4044.555 / 0919.699.3572 / 4044-534.

For latest update on real estate development and its RA 9646, the Real Estate Service Act of 2009, visit www.ra9646.com.

AGI upbeat on gaming business despite challenges

Philippine Daily Inquirer - Tycoon Andrew Tan-led Alliance Global Group Inc. is upbeat on its pioneering gaming complex and all other core businesses, unfazed by the decline in tourist arrivals from China and the recent softening of the Macau gaming industry.

“I think all our (business) segments remained strong. This year, we should be OK especially as we’re going to an election year (2013),” AGI president Kingson Sian said in an interview with Inquirer on Thursday, when asked about how the company fared in the first semester.

Outside of the property businesses, Sian said prospects for AGI’s consumer segments, such as its beverage and food businesses, remained bright.

AGI’s food and beverage arm Emperador Distillers produces Emperador, Generoso and Emperador Light brandies and a line of flavored alcoholic beverages called The Bar. Golden Arches Development Corp. operates the quick service restaurant business under the McDonald’s brand.

Asked whether the group was worried about the impact on its gaming business of the slowdown in tourist arrivals from China, Sian said: “There will be an impact because it’s a sizable market, although they’re not the largest. We’re hopeful it will be resolved over time.”

Tourist arrivals from China were seen slowing down due to the Chinese government’s advisory on travels to the Philippines.

The advisory, issued by China in May at the height of the Scarborough shoal dispute, discourages group travels to the Philippines.

“There are other markets and the other markets continue to be strong like Korea. We’re developing new markets and the overall direction of the business is good,” Sian said.

Asked whether the group was worried about the reported softening of the gaming market in Macau, Sian said Macau had grown so rapidly such that it was not expected to climb in a perpetual manner. “It has to pause sometimes. Nevertheless, it remains to be the largest in the world. From nothing, Macau is now the largest (gaming market) and Singapore is already the second-largest.”


For latest update on real estate development and its RA 9646, the Real Estate Service Act of 2009, visit www.ra9646.com.