Ortigas to pursue new residential, commercial projects

MANILA, Philippines - Ortigas & Co., one of the oldest property developers in the country, will pursue new residential and commercial projects this year as it continues to ride on the property boom.

The real estate firm will pursue its business development plans despite a stalemate in the selection in selecting a potential partner, a company executive said.

“We launched Royalton late last year and that is doing very well. We are also pretty excited with Viridian in Greenhills,” Emmanuel A. Rapadas, senior vice-president and chief finance officer and treasurer of OCLP Holdings Inc., told reporters.

Royalton is the first condominium in Ortigas & Co.’s Capitol Commons mixed-use development in Pasig City.

“We are also working on a new Tiendesitas and Circulo Verde project is ongoing,” Rapadas said.

For this year, Ortigas & Co. will be more active in the business process outsourcing (BPO) space.

“We will be launching two more BPO buildings within the Frontera Verde complex. It will be a campus-type development,” Rapadas said, adding that the company is already in talks for tenants in the four-story buildings. To date, Ortigas & Co. has completed two BPO buildings in the area.

For this year, the property firm expects bulk of its revenues to come from sales from residential condominium units amid the property boom, Rapadas said.

“We expect that will continue in the next three years,” he said. In previous years, the company has been deriving most of its revenues from leasing income in the Greenhills shopping complex.

The SM Group of mall and banking tycoon Henry Sy earlier offered to buy the 34-percent stake of British banking giant HSBC in the holding company that owns the 16-hectare Greenhills shopping complex.

In July, Ortigas family members bought the shares from HSBC for about P11 billion. That same month, the group led by Ignacio Ortigas entered into a P15-billion deal for the development of the Ortigas family’s landbank.

“The partnership decision] is among relatives. They will decide who they eventually want to partner with,” Rapadas said, adding that some family members are still willing to sell their shares.

Ortigas & Co. plans to develop its current portfolio with or without a partner.

“Under our current business plan, we can do it ourselves...The suppliers of credit are eager to help us because we have a pretty solid balance sheet,” Rapadas said.

Rapadas said that Ortigas & Co. can easily pursue the projects in the next five years without a strategic partner.

The Ortigases, whose historic roots date back to the 300-year Spanish colonial rule, are among the largest landowners in the country. They developed upscale residential subdivisions Valle Verde and Wack-Wack as well as the 77-unit Luntala townhouse project within Valle Verde 6.

Aside from the Greenhills shopping center, the group’s portfolio includes the 18-hectare Tiendesitas in Pasig, residential development located on a 12-hectare property in Calle Industria in Bagumbayan in Quezon City, and the P25-billion Capitol Commons, which will rise on a 10-hectare property previously occupied by the Rizal Provincial Capitol.