Globe is in Suntech Ipark BPO Development

Property Company of Friends Inc., (Pro-Friends) remains a trailblazer in the Philippine real estate industry with its newest master-planned 25-hectare commercial, business and lifestyle township community called Downtown Lancaster, located right in the heart of the 1,400-hectare Lancaster New City in General Trias, Cavite.

Downtown Lancaster is composed of two major developments: Suntech iPark and The Square. Suntech iPark is Cavite’s first BPO office development which will house 17,500 BPO employees, while The Square is the commercial and retail section that will complement the needs of Suntech iPark and nearby residences. Downtown Lancaster will be delivered in phases: Phase 1 will cover the construction of four BPO buildings and seven retail buildings while Phase 2 will be the development of the remaining seven BPO buildings and ten retail buildings.

With this major development, Pro-Friends has turned to Globe Business, the information and communications technology (ICT) arm of Globe Telecom and preferred ICT partner of the country’s top BPO companies, for its connectivity requirements, specifically for its wireline data services. Globe Business is expected to provide secure, fast, and cutting-edge connectivity for thousands of BPO employees as well as the different commercial and retail establishments in Downtown Lancaster.

Formalizing the partnership between Globe and Pro-Friends are Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil Genio (2nd from the left) and Pro-Friends Senior Executive Vice President Jocelyn Guzman (3rd from the left). With them are Globe New Projects Development Head Jessie Alano (leftmost) and Pro-Friends Vice President for Commercial and Retail Development Karen Parungo (rightmost).

“We put our trust in Globe Business because we believe that our employees and retail tenants will experience reliable and seamless service,” shared Pro-Friends Vice President for Commercial and Retail Development Karen Parungo. “We are very excited for the partnership and we look forward to the different ways Globe Business can help improve our operations.”

Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil Genio noted that enterprise customers will soon benefit from the company’s network transformation program, which is set to modernize its wireline data network. “Customers like Pro-Friends which is expanding to build a BPO hub in Cavite will definitely experience connectivity that is up to par with first-world countries, as we embark on another infrastructure build that will enhance the internet experience within homes and businesses.”

In 2015, Globe Business has driven the revenue growth of leading Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) companies in the Philippines based on statistics by Call Center Focus. It has served the country’s top IT-BPO companies, seven of which were in the top 10 earners in terms of revenue in Philippine peso (Php) Billions. In addition, Globe Business also recorded an 81% penetration of IT-BPO companies that are provided with business products and solutions.

Source: Business Inquirer

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Profriends expand with new partner

GT CAPITAL Holdings, Inc., the holding company for tycoon George S.K. Ty’s businesses, is raising its stake in mass housing developer Property Company of Friends, Inc. (PCFI) starting this year.

GT Capital President Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said in a mobile phone message last week the conglomerate will exercise its option to increase its direct ownership in the real estate firm to 51%.

“The plan is to increase first to 42% within the first half of the year and then to 51% by the first quarter of next year,” Mr. Bautista said.

In August last year, GT Capital signed an agreement to acquire 22.68% of PCFI for P7.24 billion, subject to closing conditions, with an option to boost its stake to 51% within the next three years.

Profriends Group, Inc., which was planning on undertaking a P7.7-billion initial public offering (IPO), owns 98.51% of the issued and outstanding capital of PCFI, an affordable housing firm.

Asked if PCFI will pursue the IPO, Mr. Bautista said: “Not in the near future.”

Based on its previous filing, Profriends was planning to sell 385.750 million primary common shares, representing 11% of the company’s outstanding capital stock, at maximum price of P20 apiece to finance the development of its projects and land banking initiatives.

Profriends obtained the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the equity offering, but failed to secure the go-signal from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Profriends had tapped First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) as its underwriter for the IPO. FMIC is the investment banking arm of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., which is part of GT Capital.

PCFI netted P2.1 billion last year after booking P7 billion in total revenues. GT Capital started consolidating its financial performance in September.

“GT Capital’s recent acquisition of PCFI further expands the group’s range of products and market presence in the property development sector,” Federal Land, Inc. Chairman Alfred V. Ty said in a statement last week.

Aside from Federal Land and Metrobank, GT Capital has interests in Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.; Toyota Manila Bay Corp.; Toyota Cubao, Inc.; Toyota Financial Services Philippines Corp.; Global Business Power Corp.; Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp.; and Charter Ping An Insurance Corp.

The conglomerate reported a 32% uptick in bottomline to P12.1 billion last year from P9.2 billion in 2015, driven by the strength of its automotive and power generation businesses.

Shares in GT Capital added P16 or 1.12% to close at P1,450 each last Wednesday.

Source: Business World

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Live and Work in the same place?

Every Filipino visiting Tokyo should nurse an envy at the sight of a metropolis so well governed.

I frequented this city many times in the past. Each time I visit, the city seems to be cleaner and more efficient.

Tokyo has about the same population as Metro Manila, although it is easy to imagine her population shuffles about more intensively than people do here. The reason is simple: they can.

As a victim of Manila’s horrendous traffic jams, it was a thrill last week to actually go to four separate places in Greater Tokyo between lunch and dinner. In Manila, one can no longer have four appointments in different places in one afternoon.

Even during rush hours, traffic moves in Tokyo. The reason for this, apart from a thoroughly developed subway system, Tokyo just kept on building elevated expressways crisscrossing the metropolitan area. In many places, there are as many as four decks of elevated roadway in this city.

Five days in this city, I have not seen a single traffic enforcer. There is simply no need for them in a place where everyone so scrupulously observes the rules.

Even in small alleys, there are pedestrian stoplights. Needless to say, they, too, are scrupulously observed.

No one smokes in the streets of Tokyo these days. One may smoke only in specifically designated cubicles equipped with air filters.

No one litters in the streets of this city – not because there are stiff fines as in Singapore but because that is the right thing to do. Notwithstanding, the streets are washed every night.

Tokyo sets a high standard for how a metropolis ought to be governed. Future infra needs are anticipated and set in place before congestion happens. The Japanese are proud of their trains, and for good reasons. Japan Railways reports a cumulative delay of only a few seconds for all its train services each year. A breakdown in the rail system, which happens regularly with the MRT, will be a national scandal soothed only by the resignation of the top rail officials.

Because this is such a well-governed metropolis, productivity is imaginably high. Urban efficiency and high productivity constitute a virtuous cycle. The key to that is the quality of governance provided.

Metropolitan Manila and Metropolitan Tokyo are on two ends of the spectrum of urban governance. A four-hour flight took me from one extreme to the other.

The descent back to the Third World was quick. Back at the Manila airport, I saw passengers wrapping their baggage in duct tape to protect from thieves and extortionists. Phone calls dropped. Internet service was slow. The streets were grimy. Governance remains substandard.

Close to midnight, traffic was still at a crawl. I looked at the forlorn faces of commuters unable to get a ride. I knew I was home.  

Townships

If Metro Manila had a reliable rail service, it would be easy for much of the city’s working population to live out of the city.

An efficient rail system explains why there are few high-density housing complexes within Metropolitan Tokyo itself. Because Metro Manila failed to build an efficient mass transit system, the trend here is towards high-rise, high-density mass housing. Meanwhile, the urban transport system remains primitive, producing the traffic nightmare we now endure daily.

Since we are not about to build a comprehensive mass transit system in the foreseeable future, the next best solution to the problem is to build townships that are as self-contained as possible. One such township is the Lancaster New City now being built over 1,107 hectares in Kawit and General Trias in Cavite province. The Property Company of Friends or Pro-Friends is engineering this sprawling project.

For years, our housing developers have been building low-cost housing projects in the provinces surrounding Metro Manila. The economists at Pro-Friends, however, realized that people who buy in these housing developments continue to commute to the city for work, spending a large bulk of their income on transportation.

The Lancaster New City, with its scale, is planned to attract BPO companies to its property development so that jobs will be available to people who invest in housing in the community. BPO companies, after all, are trying to disperse out of the city to bring down costs and attract more talent.

With jobs brought closer to the homes, residents will now be spending less on transport and more for raising their quality of life. This is, no doubt, an attractive proposition for those wishing to flee the infernal traffic jams in the metropolitan area.

Pro-Friends, with this project, sets a new standard for property development. The challenge now is to build economically self-sustaining communities, reducing the need to travel to work and reducing the carbon footprint for residents.

It is an attractive proposition for me to be sure, considering how much gas I consume daily and how much exasperation I endure getting to and from work. It will be an attractive proposition for the younger generation seeking lifestyles with a smaller carbon footprint.

This economically contained township concept will have to be planned on a certain scale. It is a project scale that requires robust financing.

Fortunately for Pro-Friends and their ambitious township project, a large banking conglomerate found the idea of a self-contained community an attractive and viable one. This banking group took out a stake in Pro-Friends, bringing the Lancaster New City development several steps closer to completion.

With our banking system now able to finance large developments in a lower interest rate environment, it should be possible to replicate this township concept elsewhere.

Source: Alex Magno - http://www.philstar.com/

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Cavitex fare hike looms

Subsidiaries of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) are set to  file arbitration cases against the government over its inaction on pending petitions for toll-fee adjustments, in gross violation of their separate concession deals with Malacañang.

Mall near Cavitex

In a recent forum, MPIC President-CEO Jose Ma. Lim said the conglomerate might initiate arbitration proceedings against the government as a last resort over the long-delayed toll-rate petitions by the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) and the Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC). MNTC and CIC respectively operate the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the Cavite Expressway (Cavitex).

House near Cavitex

Lim said the government’s failure to honor its contracts with MNTC and CIC affects the competitiveness of MPIC’s participation in major infrastructure auctions under the Public-Private Partnership
Program.

MPIC said the continued freeze on toll-rate increases is affecting the financial viability of its infrastructure projects because MNTC has four years’ worth of inflation adjustments pending for Nlex, while CIC has six years of inflation adjustments for Cavitex, equivalent to 19 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

“These inflation adjustments are embedded in the concession agreements, but getting the regulator to act on our applications has been a futile exercise,” Lim said. “In order to enforce our rights, we have issued a formal demand that may end up in an arbitration with the regulator.”

The regulator in this case is the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB),  which has rejected the MNTC petition to claim from the government about P2.4 billion in foregone revenues.

“We have a provision in our concession agreement that the government would adjust the toll rates in accordance to the contract,” Franco said. “Pursuant to the provisions of the contract, we were just claiming from government lost revenues—that was rejected by the TRB.”

“We are technically on the mandatory amicable settlement stage after which we will go to mediation. Arbitration will come after,”  Franco said. “We want to see what progress they will generate from their toll-rate review process.”
Source: Business Mirror

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Developer sues blogger over cyberlibel

MASS HOUSING developer Property Company of Friends, Inc. (Profriends) has sued an advocate of hazards mapping for cyberlibel over online posts alleging structural flaws and flooding hazards in a Cavite project.

Ervin B. Malicdem, a resident of Lancaster New City in Imus City, said in an Oct. 24 blog post on the Schadow1 Expeditions Web site that the real estate company filed a criminal complaint against him with the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office.

A copy of the 10-page complaint posted on the Web site read that litigation head Arnaldo C. Malabanan, Jr., sought to charge Mr. Malicdem with six counts of online libel for posting “derogatory materials against Profriends and its employees.”

The Sept. 24 complaint pointed to Mr. Malicdem’s Facebook post identifying portions of the Lancaster New City Cavite Zone 2 project as “completely High Flood Hazard areas.”

The complaint also cited a hazard map Mr. Malicdem posted alongside a composite image that aims to show “substandard drainage,” flood-prone areas, and a “road-level irrigation canal.”

These carried the annotation: “The real reason why there is flooding in our village. And the real status of our drainage system.”

The complaint also cited yet another post where Mr. Malicdem commented on supposedly substandard construction.

“At the pretext of helping supposed aggrieved purchasers of housing units from Profriends,... [Mr.] Malicdem took advantage of the social networking site and used it as a convenient tool to spread malicious and untrue claims...,” read the complaint.

The complaint said the posts were made on the “Profriends Victims” Facebook page. It also pointed out that as an “alleged victim himself,” Mr. Malicdem “developed ill will and hostility” that exposed the intention to injure the firm.

Profriends also “incurred damage such that there was a loss of sales in its projects, as well as an increase in the number of demands for refund from buyers,” it said.

Mr. Malicdem in his nine-page counter-affidavit dated Oct. 21 said he never identified Profriends. But his posts also said his advocacy for disaster risk mapping is “being smothered” by the developer, when private individuals like him could have used data on possible hazards.

“How can the people embrace disaster risk reduction when in the first place, the information is being gagged using a libel law?,” he said.

Profriends did not reply to this reporter’s request for confirmation and comment.
Source: Business World

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Online Libel meets First Test Case

     

THE country’s newly minted Cybercrime Law may soon be tested. Word on the street is that a mass housing developer is contemplating filing online libel charges against those behind what it calls “vicious Internet and social media attacks” on its projects.

While the developer—Pro-Friends—has yet to file what could be an important precedent-setting case against those using Internet platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to disparage it, the firm has already set the ball in motion.

Pro-Friends, in fact, won round one of its effort to combat a “syndicated effort” to destroy its reputation when the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City issued a warrant for the arrest of several persons for grave slander and oral defamation.

Interestingly, one Biz Buzz source pointed out that there’s a force associated with the family of a realtor-politician behind the concerted attacks on Pro-Friends, so business rivalry could be the root of this issue.

If this is true, to whom does the hidden hand behind the defamatory campaign against Pro-Friends belong?

In fact, what Pro-Friends calls a “demolition job” against it has been going on for sometime now. The property firm believes it isn’t a spontaneous outpouring of protest by disgruntled clients, but rather a “well-funded and orchestrated by unseen hands who want to run the property development company to the ground so they can have a monopoly of the market.”

“The black propaganda campaign has been stretched by hiring ‘professional protesters’ to mount lightning mass actions complete with placards carrying libelous slogans against Pro-Friends,” said one source familiar with the reality firm’s side of the issue.

If rumors are to be believed, this developer politician has even used his political power to initiate investigations in both houses of Congress to pressure Pro-Friends, supposedly in a bid to cripple its marketing program—all while the politician’s firm pirated key marketing people of the beleaguered real estate firm to work in his own.

Luckily for Pro-Friends, it was thrown a lifeline and a vote of confidence by GT Capital through a capital infusion of P7.24 billion, with the announced interest to acquire a controlling 51-percent stake in three years. 

Source: Business Inquirer

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Diana House and Lot Available thru Pag ibig Home Loan

SAMPLE COMPUTATION OF HOUSE AND LOT FOR SALE - LANCASTER DIANA FOR RENT 

Please click HERE

Note: Monthly amortization of amount to be loaned starts after the payment period of monthly down payment. 

Profriends Lancaster Diana for  is a 2 storey townhouse with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Built with complete wall partition and painted ceilings, Diana is located inside Lancaster Estates, a 600 hectare housing development in General Trias Cavite. Just 17 kilometers away from  Airport. There's a direct bus to Lawton and Manila. 

Video Link:

Dressed Up Unit:

http://youtu.be/gPQboOafLSg

House Model  : Diana 

Property Type : 2 storey townhouse

Village Name :  Kensington Place

Village Location: Lancaster New City, Imus, Cavite

Bedroom : 3

Bathroom : 2

Garage :  1

Lot Area :  50 sqm.

Floor Area : 60 sqm.

Selling Price : PhP 1,200,000.00

Monthly DP (15 mos): PhP  10,300.11

Completion Date : 24 months ( Ready for Occupancy in 6 mos. now available)

Contact Info. : +63932-860-8685

Website  : http://www.filprimehomes.com

HOUSE FEATURES HOUSE AND LOT FOR SALE - LANCASTER DIANA

Floor Area: 60 sq.m. 

Lot Area: 50 sq.m.

(3) bedrooms

(2) Toilet and Bath

Living area

Kitchen area 

Laundry & service area 

Dining area

Spacious Balcony 

Provision for one (1) carport 

Provision for CATV, telephone & aircon unit 

HOUSE FINISHES HOUSE AND LOT FOR SALE - LANCASTER DIANA 

Tiled Toilet & Bath

Pre-painted long span roofing

Tiled Kitchen Counter with stainless kitchen sink

Interior and exterior wall paint finish

Ceramic bathroom fixtures

Steel casement windows

Plain cement floor finish

Electrical fittings like outlets, sockets, circuit breaker in all parts of the house

Plain cement finish flooring for 1st & 2nd floor

One (1) Car Garage, Cable & Internet, tel & aircon

AMENITIES AND ESTABLISHMENTS near HOUSE AND LOT FOR SALE - LANCASTER DIANA FOR RENT

Lancaster Square (Commercial Building - Opened June 22, 2013)

St. Edward Intergrated School (under consultancy with the Lasallian Schools Supervision Office [LSSO])

Church of the Holy Family

Swimming Pool

Suntech iPark (The First IT Park in Cavite - Soon to rise)

Family Enclaves & Family Courtyard

Transport service ( for a minimal fee only)

Bus Terminal (with scheduled tripping)

Business Hotel

BPO Buildings - now accepting job application

Shuttle/Bus Stop

Bayad Center

Drive Thru Fast Food

Wellcome Supermarket

Bus Terminal

Passengers Loading Station

Clubhouse (Leighton Hall and Event Center)

Basketball Court

Mixed-Use Commercial/Office Development

Petron Gasoline Station

Flood free Location

ACCESS ROUTES TO HOUSE AND LOT FOR SALE - LANCASTER DIANA

ROUTE 1 From Cubao, Starmall Edsa, or Makati Via Baclaran:

Take a bus to BACLARAN. From BACLARAN, ride on a bus to TANZA or NAIC / MARAGONDON taking the CAVITEX (Cavite Expressway) or EMILIO AGUINALDO route. Get off at LANCASTER ESTATES. Take tricycle in going inside LANCASTER ESTATES. 

ROUTE 2 From Cubao, Starmall Edsa, or Makati Via SM Bacoor:

Take a JASPER bus with DASMARINAS E. AGUINALDO HIGHWAY route or signboard. Get off at SM BACOOR. From SM BACOOR, you can get on the jeepney or bus bound for TANZA or NAIC / MARAGONDON taking the CENTENNIAL ROAD route. Get off at LANCASTER ESTATES. Take tricycle in going inside Lancaster Estates. 

ROUTE 3 From Lawton Direct:

Take a bus with TANZA or NAIC / MARAGONDON signboard via CAVITEX or E. AGUINALDO HIGHWAY route. Get off at LANCASTER ESTATES. Take tricycle in going inside Lancaster Estates. 

ROUTE 4 From Tagaytay:

Take a bus or jeepney going to BACLARAN or ZAPOTE. Get off at SM BACOOR. From SM Bacoor, you can get on the jeepney or bus bound for TANZA or NAIC / MARAGONDON taking the Tirona Highway route. Get off at LANCASTER ESTATES. Take tricycle in going inside Lancaster Estates. 

ROUTE 5 From Alabang:

From Alabang- Zapote Road junction, board a mini bus or jeepney going to TANZA or NAIC / MARAGONDON taking the Tirona Highway route. Get off at LANCASTER ESTATES. Take tricycle in going inside Lancaster Estates.

Call:

Jose Glenn M. Asuque

Real Estate Broker

REBL No. 0020499

Sunria Realty

Cell Nos:

Sun   +63932-860-8685

Viber +63932-860-8685

Smart +63919-948-6003

Globe +63905-206-3608

Email Address: filprimehomes@yahoo.com 

Website: http://www.filprimehomes.com

Connect with Us:

http://members.olx.ph/Filprimehomes 

http://www.youtube.com/user/Filprimehomes

http://www.filprimehomes.com

http://plus.google.com/+Filprimehomes

http://www.facebook.com/filprimehomes

http://twitter.com/filprimehomes

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http://s1207.photobucket.com/user/filprimehomes/profile

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http://ph.linkedin.com/pub/filprimehomes-ph/67/208/b16

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PPP Projects set for final approval

MANILA, Philippines – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board is expected to approve at least 3 public-private partnership (PPP) projects – including two elevated railways and an airport rehabilitation – as part of the Aquino administration's attempt to lock in more infrastructure deals before its term ends.

Asked if the NEDA Board, chaired by President Benigno Aquino III, will meet soon, PPP Center Executive Director Cosette Canilao replied on Thursday, September 3: "Yes, we'll have it tomorrow."

Confirming that "there will be a NEDA Board meeting tomorrow, September 4," Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said in a separate media briefing in Pasay on Thursday, "We'll have 3 PPP projects and other civil works deals that will be up for final approval."

Canilao told reporters on the sidelines of a media briefing in Quezon City on Thursday that the following, among other projects, are tabled for approval:

P50.15-billion ($1.07-billion) LRT Line 4 (LRT4) project
P64.71-billion ($1.38-billion) Light Rail Transit Line 6 (LRT6) project
P74.56-billion ($1.59-billion) Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Development project
The LRT4 project would build an 11-km railway from Taytay, Rizal, to Ortigas Avenue along EDSA, where a transfer station would be put up to link the proposed train system to the Metro Rail Transit line 3.

The LRT6 project, meanwhile, involves a 19-kilometer (km) railway from Bacoor to Dasmariñas City in Cavite, which would connect the cities to the LRT1 Cavite Extension project already awarded by the government.

The NAIA Development deal is intended to upgrade all terminals in the Metro Manila airport, bringing them in line with international standards.

Changes in terms

The chief of PPP Center added that the P122.80-billion ($2.62-billion) Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project will also need another NEDA board approval for some changes in the terms.

Canilao added the changes are in the ramping up of the operations of the expressway, ahead of the other components, plus the mechanics on schedule of transfer of the reclaimed real estate.

The Laguna Lakeshore project involves the construction of a 47-kilometer flood control dike. On top of which will be a 6-lane expressway starting from Taguig, passing through Muntinlupa and Calamba, and ending in Los Baños at its boundary in Bay, Laguna.
The PPP deal also includes the reclamation of about 700 hectares of foreshore and offshore areas, west of the dike, in Taguig and Muntinlupa.

Non-PPP deals for green light

Other than these PPP projects, 3 infrastructure projects implemented by the transportation department will also be up for NEDA board approval, Abaya said:

P15.35-billion ($328.15-million) Clark International Airport Low Cost Carrier Passenger Terminal Building
P4.88-billion ($104.32-million) Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
P3.5-billion ($74.82-million) Naga Airport Development Project
DOTC said that the Clark International Airport deal, targeted for completion in 2016, will be divided into two phases.

Its first phase will boost the terminal's capacity to 5 million passengers per year from the current 2.5 million. Its second phase will hike that further to 8 million passengers annually.

The proposal for the Metro Manila BRT, which will run from Manila to Quezon City, was discussed by the NEDA board in a previous meeting. But it will be re-submitted on Friday after the NEDA board instructed the transportation department to shorten the route to avoid overlapping with a portion of the planned Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT7).

"So it's now Manila City Hall to Quezon Circle Philcoa (Philippine Coconut Authority), instead of Manila all the way to Fairview Commonwealth," Abaya explained.

The Naga Airport Development Project in Camarines Sur, which includes the rehabilitation of its apron, will also be re-submitted to the NEDA board, after it asked the transportation department to look for ways to cheapen the cost.

"The NEDA board asked us to compare the cost of merely extending the runway and making a new runway. The new runway is cheaper, so it's now P3.5 billion ($34.77 million) compared to the [original cost of] P5.3 billion ($113.86 million)," Abaya said.

To date, the Aquino administration has awarded PPP projects worth around P189 billion ($4.17 billion).
Source: http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/208-infrastructure/104637-lrt-projects-naia-neda-board-approval

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GT Capital partners with Profriends

GT Capital buys into Profriends for P7.24-B

MANILA - GT Capital Holdings Inc. is buying a minority stake in low-cost housing developer Property Company of Friends Inc. (PCFI) for P7.24 billion to expand its real estate portfolio.

GT Capital said it signed a deal to acquire 22.68 percent of PCFI, with an option to increase its direct shareholding to 51 percent within the next three years, the company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The acquisition marks the entry of GT Capital into affordable housing, as the country faces a supply shortage of more than three million homes.

PCFI is a subsidiary of Profriends Group Inc., which has postponed a planned 7.7 billion pesos initial public offer.
PCFI has built and sold over 36,000 affordable homes in Cavite and Iloilo. Its flagship project is Lancaster New City, which spans the areas of Kawit, Imus, and General Trias in Cavite.

“The low-cost housing segment is the real sweet spot in the country’s property sector, with a supply shortage of over three million homes, which continues to grow annually. Our partnership with GT Capital will strengthen our ability to be a leading player in serving this urgent market need. Moreover, the potential synergies of working with other component companies in the GT Capital group will enable us to offer our live, work, learn, play, and worship estates to many more middle income Filipino families,” PCFI chairman Guillermo Choa said in a statement.

Owned by the Philippines' sixth richest man George Ty, GT Capital owns Federal Land Inc, a developer of mid-income and high-end apartments in Manila.
Source: ABS-CBN News/business

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Profriends has a new Partner in Real Estate Projects

MANILA, Philippines — GT Capital Holdings, Incorporated, the listed holding company of business tycoon George Ty, is acquiring 22.68% stake in mass housing developer Property Company of Friends, Incorporated (Pro-Friends) for P7.24 billion ($157.92 million).

GT Capital told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the agreement also provides the company an option to increase its direct shareholdings in Pro-Friends to 51% within the next 3 years.

Its acquisition of a significant stake in Pro-Friends came despite the company’s difficulty in securing approval from the PSE to proceed with its P7.7 billion ($167.96 million) initial public offering (IPO).

Pro-Friends is a unit of Profriend Group, Incorporated, which in 2014 filed an application to conduct an IPO.

Pro-Friends, however, recently pulled out its IPO application.

Meanwhile, the acquisition marks the conglomerate’s venture into mass housing development and is expected to complement its real estate develop unit Federal Land, Incorporated.

"We view this acquisition as a mutually beneficial partnership for both parties. Profriends has the product expertise and the strategic land bank, while GT Capital has the financial resources and access to capital,” GT Capital Chairman Francisco Sebastian said.

"Our partnership adds a new dimension to GT Capital’s property development portfolio and will enable our group to be one of the market leaders in the low-cost housing sector,” he added.

For his part, Profriends Chairman Guillermo Choa welcomed the company’s partnership with GT Capital.

“The low-cost housing segment is the real sweet spot in the country’s property sector, with a supply shortage of over three million homes, which continues to grow annually,” Choa said.

“Our partnership with GT Capital will strengthen our ability to be a leading player in serving this urgent market need. Moreover, the potential synergies of working with other component companies in the GT Capital group will enable us to offer our live, work, learn, play, and worship estates to many more middle income Filipino families,” he added.

Federal Land President Alfred Ty said the acquisition will expand the group’s presence in the property market.

“The GT Capital group will now offer Federal Land’s upper- mid to high-end vertical projects and Profriends' low-cost horizontal and mixed-use townships in key areas near Metro Manila. Our strategic tie-up will thus be a fusion of all property sub-segments,” Ty said.

Last December, Pro-Friends reported an audited net income after tax of P3.61 billion ($78.74 million).filprimehomes
Source: Rappler.com

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Biggest Developer in Philippine Real Estate

Top 10 Property Developers In The Philippines

10. Rockwell Land Corporation

Founded by the Lopez Group, Rockwell Land has experienced remarkable growth in its first two years of operations. Established in 1995, Rockwell Land transformed a former thermal power plant site into a new living environment which is now the Rockwell Center.

A member of the Lopez Group of Companies, Rockwell Land continues to raise the standard for living spaces, creating environments that seamlessly harmonize residences, work spaces, and lifestyle hubs, all with the Rockwell signature of innovation, exclusivity and unparalleled quality.

9. Property Company of Friends (Profriends)

Profriends or Property Company of Friends is one of the leading property developers in the country. Headquartered in Mandaluyong City, ProFriends is a Top 500 (Ranked 425th) company as counted by Business World in their top grossers list in 2011. Currently, ProFriends is considered as one of the players in Real Estate here in the Philippines.

From small pocket developments, to medium rise condominiums and townhouses, Profriends has ventured into estate development  to meet the different tastes and needs of the Filipino home buyers.

8. Century Properties

Century Properties is the name behind some of the most recognizable projects in Metro Manila in recent years: Azure Urban Residences in Parañaque, Trump Tower Manila in Century City, and Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong, to name just a few.

Starting 2010, the Company has completed 6 buildings totaling 5,009 units and 354,313 GFA up to December 31, 2014. This is in addition to the 19 buildings totaling 3,768 units and 518,634 GFA that were completed prior to 2010 by the founding principals’ prior development companies, the Meridien group of companies.

7. Greenfield Development Corporation

Greenfield Dev’t Corp. is one of the most diversified real estate companies in the country that begins in 1972. It engages the expertise of world-renowned consultants-Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; Robert Lambhart, Ltd.; Wallace, Roberts & Todd; PKF Consultants; Fisher Friedman Associates; SWA Group; Skidmore Owings & Merril International Ltd.; EDGE Design Studios; Robert Trent Jones and EDAW EA, Ltd.

Anchored by vast landholdings, financial strength, strategic alliances, and supported by world-renowned consultants, Greenfield Development Corporation is one of the Philippines’s most diversified real estate companies, rapidly expanding through aggressive developments in industrial, commercial, residential, recreational and infrastructure projects.

6. DMCI Homes

DMCI Homes is the real estate arm of DMCI Holdings, Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary DMCI Project Developers, Inc. (PDI). It was incorporated and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 27, 1995. It ranked #146 in the Business World Top 1000 Corporations for 2014.

Through continuing research, DMCI became a pioneer in several advanced construction application technology in the Philippines. Taking this into account, DMCI enjoys the patronage of both new and repeat institutional clients whose businesses have benefited from DMCI’s on-or-ahead-of-schedule completion philosophy.

5. Filinvest Land

Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) is one of the leading real estate developers in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC), which has more than 40 years of experience in real estate development.

Filinvest Land’s core business of affordable and middle-income housing grew to become one of the Philippines’ most diversified real estate developer: high-rise condos, medium-rise projects, BPO buildings, shopping centers, and leisure developments.

4. Vista Land And Lifescapes

Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. is a real estate company in the Philippines. It is owned by Manny Villar, a senator of the Philippines. Its condominium projects are primarily built in Metro Manila. It is the only real estate firm in the Philippines to operate on a nationwide scale with projects present in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao islands. The company’s mall units is planning to develop malls in all its horizontal residential projects.

Operating through its five distinct subsidiaries, Vista Land is the one of the leading homebuilder in the Philippines. Vista Land provides a wide range of housing products to its customers across all income segments.

3. Megaworld Corporation

The Megaworld Corporation is a property-based company which specializes in large-scale township developments in Metro Manila’s prime locations. Founded by its chairman and CEO, Andrew Tan, a Filipino-Chinese businessman, the corporation is considered to be the leading developer of residential condominiums for the upper-middle and high-end market and office projects for the IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries.

To date, the company has introduced 18 successful large-scale, master-planned mixed-use townships across the country like Eastwood City in Quezon City (18.5 hectares), which holds the distinction of being the country’s first cyberpark.

2. SM Land Inc.

SM Land, Inc. operates as a holding company and through its subsidiaries engages in the development and management of real estate properties. SM Land, Inc. was formerly known as Shoemart Inc. and changed its name to SM Land, Inc. in October, 2008.

In half a decade, SM Land has evolved from being a white knight investor to a developer in its own right successfully completing, delivering and managing their own developments; In effects creating retail, commercial and residential encalves that today are a vibrant part if the community.

1. Ayala Land

Ayala Land, Inc. is the largest property developer in the Philippines, operating prime commercial spaces throughout the country. It is owned by the Ayala Corporation.

Ayala Land develops residential, retail, office, hotel, and leisure components, within growth centers across strategic areas around Philippines. It is the real estate arm of Ayala Corporation, the country’s oldest and one of its largest conglomerates. From an internal division of Ayala Corporation, it was spun off and incorporated in 1988.
Source: HomeSweethome.com

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Tap N' Ride Transport System now in Lancaster New City

Another milestone for Lancaster New City was set in order to provide families living inside the development more time for family bonding!

Everyone was very much excited as the Soft Launch of the Lancaster New City Tap N' Ride Transport System Metrolink Buses was held last July 18, 2015, wherein four (4) Metrolink Buses were made ready for the exclusive use of the Lancaster residents and their guests. The Metrolink Buses made use of E-Tap cards and brought resident passengers and their guests from Lancaster New City to Coastal Mall and vice versa.

In a continous effort to improve the Lancaster New city Tap N' Ride Transport System, the entire team and management will be studying and adjusting the bus schedules depending on the requirements of the residents during the entire soft launch.

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