Filinvest eyes more hotel brands

MANILA, Philippines - Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), the investment firm of the Gotianun family, is pursuing synergies with its property unit through the launch of more hotels in mixed-use developments.

The listed holding firm plans to put up as much as seven hotels through different brands in commercial centers and tourist spots nationwide in the next few years, its top executive said.

“We have five to seven hotel projects in the works. Some already broke ground while some are in the planning stage,” said FDC president and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap.

FDC has identified tourist spots Boracay and Tagaytay for its new hotels while mixed-use projects of property arm Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) in Binondo, Cubao and Ortigas Center would feature hotels, Gotianun-Yap said.

Subsidiary FDC Hotels Corp. recently started the construction of the P3.49-billion, 192-room Crimson Resort and Spa in Boracay Island that would start operations in 2016.

“Our hotel brand will be dependent on the location and the market segment,” Gotianun-Yap said. For instance, the company would put up an affordable hotel in the Cubao lot formerly owned by National Bookstore.

Hence, FDC would be able to offer a complete portfolio of hotels ranging from the affordable segment to the upscale brands.

In Cebu, FDC operates the 400-room Quest Hotel and Conference Center in Cebu that caters to the middle income segment. FDC also owns Crimson Resort and Spa at Seascapes Resort Town in Cebu and Crimson Hotel Filinvest City Manila.

Should the company be successful in its hotel projects, FDC is prepared to introduce its brands abroad.

“If you build a good brand, like Crimson that already has lots of awards, it would be nice for a Filipino brand to make it abroad,” Gotianun-Yap said, adding that its hotel in Cebu is enjoying strong occupancy and high room rates.

Aside from hotels, FDC is into property (FLI), power generation (FDC Utilities Inc.), banking (EastWest Bank) and sugar production (Pacific Sugar Holdings).

“In each of the companies, we have expansion plans,” Gotianun-Yap said. For instance, subsidiaries are increasing their product lines and are expanding geographically.

The sugar business still has a capacity to grow but the company has to increase sugarcane supply by assisting farmers, Gotianun-Yap said.

For the power business, FDC is looking for more projects to increase its generating capacity.

The listed firm is putting up a 405-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental to help solve the power shortage in Mindanao. The first two units of the power plant will start operations in 2016 while the remaining 135 MW is projected to be online in 2017.

FDC allotted roughly P33 billion for its capital expenditures this year to bankroll property development, hotel as well as power projects and at the same time fund the expansion of its banking business. It is way above the P20 billion spent in 2013.

In 2013, FDC’s profits rose 12 percent to P6.5 billion from P5.8 billion while consolidated revenues improved 17 percent to P34.8 billion from P29.8 billion in the previous year.