RP wants revaluation of Japan property

MANILA, Philippines - The government wants its real estate property in Fujimi, Japan to undergo another valuation to determine if the price tab is still accurate.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said that because the government is having a difficult time attracting bidders for the lease-and-development contract of the Fujimi property, it might be better to do another valuation.

“Perhaps the price we are offering the market may be too high so we will have to assess,” Teves said.

As such, he said he would recommend to the next administration to conduct another valuation of the property so that it would be easier for the next government to bid out the lease and development contract of the Fujimi asset.

The government has been trying to bid out the 50-year lease and development contract for the property for P3 billion.

The property has attracted a number of real estate developers but after reviewing their documents and qualification, the government bids and awards committee (BAC) for the Fujimi property has found out that none of the bidders were qualified for the long-term lease of the real estate asset.

Revenues from the lease of the Fujimi property are included in the revised P30-billion privatization target of the government for this year, which is higher than the previous goal of P12.5 billion.

The P30-billion also includes the P13 billion from the sale of the government’s Food Terminal Inc. property in Taguig and the P12 billion from the sale of its 10 percent stake in the Malampaya deep water-to-gas project held by Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp.

Officials said the slowdown in the Japanese economy must have also contributed to difficulties in privatizing via long-term lease the Fujimi property.

The government has been having a difficult time selling its three big-ticket items including Fujimi and PNOC because of difficult economic conditions and the price tabs on the assets, which some investors find too high.