Zeus Holdings plans shift to real estate business

Publicly-listed Zeus Holdings Inc. plans to shift focus from investment holding into real estate, the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The firm said it is anticipating the imminent recovery in the property sector, which has been in the doldrums for the past several years. "We believe that now is the best time to re-align our focus and shift our business strategies to take advantage of the opportunities in the property sector," the company said.

The company is now eyeing several real estate properties and landholdings for potential business endeavors.

At the same time, Zeus said it intends to resolve its P920,000 capital deficiency through a proposed infusion of real estate property assets worth P6 million.

The resulting transaction will wipe out the existing capital deficit of P920,000 and bring its capital reserve to positive levels.

Management expects to complete the proposed infusion in one year.

Zeus was incorporated in 1981 as J.R. Garments Corp. to engage in the garment manufacturing, distribution and export business.

It ceased its garment operations on Aug. 31, 1996 and diversified into other businesses. Accordingly, it changed its name to Zeus to reflect the change in its primary purpose to that of an investment holding company.

Zeus increased its capitalization from P100 million to P3 billion through the issuance of new common shares to new investors and conversion of advances to equity by existing shareholders. This transaction marked the entry of Zeus into the cement business.

Zeus became the majority owner (99.63 percent) of Mindanao Portland Cement Corp., a company engaged in the distribution and manufacturing of cement. It however sold its shareholdings in MPCC in Dec. 2000.