BDO, Jardine tie up for Caloocan project

Banco de Oro Universal Bank, the banking arm of the SM Group of retail magnate Henry Sy, has signed an agreement with Jardine Properties Inc. for the development of the bank’s property in Caloocan City.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, BDO said Jardine Properties will conduct a due diligence study on the 57,875-square meter property prior to the drafting of a development management agreement specifying the terms and conditions of the tie-up.

Last year, BDO set up a new company, BDO Realty Corp., to manage the real estate properties of the BDO Group either by itself or in joint venture with other parties, in order to maximize the value of these assets.

BDO Realty was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission with total authorized capital stock of P100 million.

With the formation of BDO Realty, the BDO Group is now focused on making its real estate properties, particularly its real and other properties owned or a covered (ROPOA), generate the best returns for the BDO Group.

The total foreclosed assets of the group stood at P4.5 billion as of end-2001, just before the bank undertook its initial public offering in early 2002.

Only select foreclosed properties will go into BDO Realty with the rest are being considered for unloading into a special purpose vehicle.

Apart from the property business, BDO has also ventured into the credit card business.

The bank incorporated BDO Credit Card Co. as its entry into the consumer business to make use of its links with the SM group of companies, which include the shopping malls.