Filinvest Land to issue P1.5B CPs to refinance debts

Filinvest Land Inc., the property development concern of businessman Andrew Gotianun, plans to issue P1.5 billion worth of long-term commercial papers early next year to refinance debts.

FLI vice-president Fely T. Ramos said the company will issue five-year bonds in the first quarter to pay off maturing obligations. FLI has P2 billion bonds maturing in November 2004, with the remaining debt to be funded through internally-generated funds.

The LTCP issuance is part of the fund-raising measures adopted by FLI to ease down its loan obligations which have become a drag on its profitability over the past three years.

Ramos said the company’s financial performance, however, has significantly improved in the first five months of the year, driven by the gains from the sale of commercial lots by Filinvest Alabang Inc. (FAI), which is 20 percent owned by FLI.

FLI’s sales reached P900 million for the period Jan. to May this year or 40 percent higher than the previous level. This was in line with the company’s projected sales of P2 to P2.2 billion this year as against P1.65 billion in 2002.

Ramos said FLI has earmarked P800 million for its capital expenditures this year which include the development of existing and new affordable housing projects.

She said the company will be repackaging some of its projects to cater to the middle-income segment. It is looking at reducing the lot sizes of its housing projects and slashing prices to cater to a wider market.

With the successful launch of its first farm estate project, the Bali-themed Nusa Dua in Tanza, Cavite, FLI is now planning to develop a second project in the eastern part of Rizal.

The Palms, a family resort club located within the Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, Muntinlupa City and developed by affiliate FAI, opened last August and was formally inaugurated in Nov. 2002. With its exciting line-up of family-friendly amenities and services, The Palms rapidly became a byword premium relaxation among its exclusive clientele.

In the pipeline for FLI’s leisure component in 2003 are plans for a club resort in Tagaytay, and a nature and sports club in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains in Rizal.

Meanwhile, company officials refused to comment on the recommendation by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation arm that parent company Filinvest Development Corp. be slapped with a P27.89 million fine for alleged violation of disclosure rules.

FDC was given 15 days from receipt of SEC’s show-cause letter to explain its side.

It was found to have traded shares of FLI prior to the housing developer’s disclosure of its P1.2 billion bond deal with Reco Grandhomes Pte. Ltd.

Section 27 of the Securities Regulation Code prohibits an insider to sell or buy shares of the issuer while in possession of material information not yet known to the public and regulators.

The Gotianuns entered the real estate business in 1967 through the establishment of Filinvest Realty Corp. and in 1984 consolidated their real estate interests in FDC. In 1993, FDC transferred to FLI the real estate business.