Supercity to build 2,000 mass housing units in Calabarzon

The initial public offering (IPO)-bound Supercity Realty Development Corp. plans to build 2,000 mass housing units in the Calabarzon area next year in a bid to remain ahead of its competitors.

As its core revenue generating activity, Supercity will continue its focus on the Calabarzon and Bulacan areas where most housing developments in the country are concentrated.

Supercity president Arthur Lim said the company plans to concentrate primarily on horizontal residential housing and land development projects, where the company believes it has a competitive advantage.

The company is set to offer to the public 50 million new common shares, representing 45.45 percent of its issued and outstanding capital stock, at P1 per share.

Listing of the company’s shares has been set on Dec. 19. Tapped as lead underwriter for the offering is Abacus Capital & Investment Corp.

With the inflow of funds from the IPO, Supercity plans to purchase major construction equipment, which will give it the ability to handle multiple clients and projects. It also hopes to attain economies of scale by increasing its client base and at the same time minimizing its operating costs.

The company will use part of the IPO proceeds for the partial payment of its bank loans. The loans, amounting to P15 million with an interest rate of 11.25 percent, will mature on Sept. 1, 2004.

Supercity is a local construction services company primarily competing with independent construction firms serving real estate developers in horizontal development in the mass-housing, low-cost medium-and upper-scale subdivision and home development categories.

The company’s major completed and ongoing projects are the Mabuhay City Subdivision in Cabuyao, Laguna, Jubilation New Binan Subdivision in Biñan, Laguna, and Eastwood Greenview Subdivision in Rodriguez, Rizal.

The company’s revenues from contracts went down significantly to P84.7 million in June this year. This was due to the rescheduling of some of the developers’ projects for the second half of 2003. Its major contributor to revenues was housing construction at 67.68 percent.