Filinvest Land venture to develop Cebu City's new business district

September 4, 2009 - Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) and the Cebu City government will form a joint venture that will develop the southern city’s new central business district.

FLI will be spending as much as P20 billion for the 25-year development of a 50.6-hectare land located at the South Road Properties, company officials said.

The mixed-use complex will also feature retail, residential, commercial, and leisure components.

Construction will begin in the first quarter of next year.

Funds will be sourced from bank loans and internally-generated funds, Joseph Yap, FLI president and chief executive officer, said.

“The bulk would be internal funds since we would only need about P1 billion annually for the project," Yap said.

The development’s first phase would be the cluster of mid-rise residential buildings intended for local residents and foreign buyers, said Tristan Los Marias, FLI vice president for Visayas and Mindanao.

In the meantime, the company remains “guardedly optimistic" about its outlook for the property sector for the remaining months of the year and even for 2010, Yap said.

FLI, whose portfolio covers socialized mass housing to high-end segments, is expecting a 10 percent to 15 percent improvement in its sales for this year.

“We will still have growth but not the kind of growth that we have seen in the previous years," Yap added.

The company is also set to issue P3-billion worth of retail bonds with an option to sell another P2 billion more with a target date of mid October. - (GMANews)