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.

Megaworld ups Global City investment to P65B

Business Mirror - Megaworld Corp., the flagship property arm of billionaire Andrew Tan, is increasing its investments in a 15-hectare mixed-use complex called Uptown Bonifacio by 44 percent to P65 billion over a 20-year period. 

Uptown Bonifacio, located within Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, will feature up to 18 towers, offering a total potential development of 500,000 square meters of residential space, 400,000 sq m of office space and 90,000 sq m of retail space, a statement on Tuesday showed.

Senior Vice President for Marketing Noli Hernandez said the upgrade was made to reflect a more positive
outlook for real estate in the Fort Bonifacio area. For instance, sales for an all-suites condominium in the development, dubbed Uptown Ritz Residence, have been brisk.  

Uptown Ritz units are expected to fetch P8 billion in sales, once fully taken up.  

Aside from retail attractions, Uptown Bonifacio will have a P12-billion, 140,000-sq-m corporate block with four towers set along Megaworld Avenue, the district’s main avenue.

The upcoming corporate block will be constructed under the Berde (Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence) rating system. Its office buildings will showcase cutting-edge architecture, double-glaze glass walls, sky gardens and a lagoon.

Megaworld shares rose 0.89 percent to P2.26 each on Tuesday, giving the builder a market value of almost P58 billion.

For more details on Uptown Bonifacio, 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.

Megaworld pledges to buy unsold Empire East shares

Businessworld - MEGAWORLD CORP., the middle-income property unit of business tycoon Andrew L. Tan, has pledged to buy shares of subsidiary Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. that will be left unsold after an upcoming stock rights offer.

“In connection with the one for four preemptive stock rights offering of Empire East, Megaworld, as the major and controlling stockholder of Empire East, has committed and undertaken to subscribe to its rights offer entitlement and to any rights offer shares not taken up by other shareholders,” the disclosure read.

“This will ensure that all 2.6 billion rights offer shares will be subscribed,” Megaworld added.

As of end-June, Megaworld held a 47.28% stake in Empire East, equivalent to 5.02 billion shares.

Empire East shareholders last month approved the preemptive stock rights offer, wherein the company will offer one new share for every four shares held by existing stockholders, in a bid to raise funds for land banking, project development, and 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 showed.

Earlier this week, 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.

The developer is also one of many firms interested in the 120-hectare, state-owned Food Terminal, Inc. agri-indsutrial complex in Taguig City that is slated for bidding next month, having floated a P14-billion unsolicited offer for the property last year.

Empire East’s first-quarter net income rose by 48.13% to P34.71 million versus year-ago levels, supported by an uptick in the company’s real estate sales.

Total revenues went up by 23.88% to P700.08 million, while costs and expenses expanded by 24.52% to P672.33 million.

Megaworld shares plunged 4.87% to P2.15 yesterday, while those of Empire East fell by 3.37% to 86 centavos each.

For more details on Megaworld and 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.

Megaworld creates RFO division

Philippine Star - Megaworld Corp., the country’s largest residential condominium developer, has created a Prime Properties Investment Group (PPG), a marketing division that exclusively handles all completed projects and ready for occupancy (RFO) properties.

Megaworld PPG vice president for sales and marketing Donna Racho said the group is set to change the RFO landscape by offering free interior design services to all buyers.

 “Through the years, there is a specific segment of our market that prefers RFOs more than pre-selling projects. And these buyers are usually the most sophisticated ones who want to personalize their units - from the cuts to the designs and furnishings. This is what we will be offering to them,” Racho said.

Racho explained that Megaworld has pre-selected the units that will be reserved as RFOs even during the construction phase. This, she said, would allow the company to forecast its inventory for pre-selling separate from RFOs.

The division will be on top in providing “unparalleled” after-sales services to Megaworld unit owners. It established an exclusive interior design team, composed of seasoned home designers, to address the needs of buyers who want to personalize their units. At present, clients may choose from Zen, Contemporary, and Modern Victorian designs for their units.

“We base our designs on their personality, lifestyle, color preferences and mood preferences,” said Megaworld PPG senior design head Fernando Buenavista.

Clients may also request the group to select, negotiate and purchase their preferred furniture, fixtures and appliances that suit their needs and budget.

Megaworld PPG may also assist RFO unit owners who want to lease or re-sell their properties. It will also ensure the safekeeping and maintenance of the units in the absence of the unit owners.

“This isn’t just all about revenues. We want to create a long-lasting after-sales service to our most valued clients. We want them to remember Megaworld. And the next time they want to invest for a property, Megaworld will be top of their minds,” she explained.

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.