CV is second fastest growing region in Phl

By Grace Melanie I. Lacamiento (The Freeman) Updated July 28, 2012 12:00 AM

 CEBU, Philippines - Central Visayas ranked second to Caraga Administrative Region as both had been included in the top five list of fastest growing regions in the Philippines for year 2011 based on the recent statistical data of the National Statistical Coordination Board.
In a press statement posted on the agency’s website last July 26, Region 7 posted a 7.9% growth among the country’s seventeen regions following Caraga’s economy that recorded the fastest growth at 9.6 percent last year.
“This is a very good development for Central Visayas. Our Gross Regional Domestic Product level has reached P620 billion at current prices, the fourth biggest after National Capital Region, CALABARZON and Central Luzon,” National Economic Development Authority Assistant Regional Director Efren Carreon told The Freeman.
Aside from Region XIII and Region VII, other areas which were included in the 2011 list of top five fastest growing were Central Luzon with 7.5%, Western Visayas with 5.5% and Cagayan Valley with 5.4%. The economy of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), however, declined by 1% in 2011 from a 2.3% growth in 2010.
On the other hand, the national statistical agency cited that the economies of the three island groups reported slower growths last year from their strong performances in 2010.
“Luzon’s economy (excluding NCR) slowed down to 3.9% in 2011 from a robust performance of 8.9% in 2010; Visayas decelerated to 5.9% from 7.3% and Mindanao’s economy turned in a lackluster performance of 3.2% from 4.7%,” NSCB stated.
With the same share compared to the previous year, Luzon island with seven regions excluding NCR contributed 37.5% of the country’s total domestic output that is considered to be the largest among the island groups. Mindanao island which is comprised of six regions accounted for 14.1% of the country’s economy and Visayas island group, composed of three regions, posted a share of 12.8% in 2011 which is 0.3 percentage point higher than its 12.5% share in 2010.
In terms of the 3.9% national GDP growth in 2011, NCR also contributed at 1.3 percentage points considered as the largest, Central Luzon with 0.7 percentage point and Central Visayas and CALABARZON which contributed 0.5 percentage point each.
NSCB was created under Executive Order No. 121 issued on January 30, 1987 as the policy-making and coordinating agency on statistical matters in the Philippines.
It further aims to develop an orderly Philippine Statistical System capable of providing time, accurate, relevant, and useful data for the government and the public for planning and decision-making.  (FREEMAN)

RLC to build Robinsons Galleria Cebu its biggest outside Metro Manila

(The Philippine Star) Updated July 27, 2012 12:00 AM

| Zoom

Manila, Philippines -  Robinsons Land Corporation is breaking ground this July 26 on the site of what will be its 38th and biggest mall outside of Metro Manila in the North Reclamation area of Cebu City, where the Gokongwei business empire first took root and flourished.
Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) is ramping up investments in Cebu, which is experiencing robust economic growth, a vibrant retail industry and a booming tourism sector”, said RLC president Frederick D. Go.
Robinsons Galleria Cebu will be a mixed-use development which will include the first Cebu branch of gohotel.ph as well as office spaces for business process outsourcing firms.
The seven story commercial building will rise on a 4.6 hectare lot along General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City and will have a gross floor area of about 156,000 square meters (sqm).
The hotel will have 153 rooms, the BPO offices will occupy three floors with over 9,000 sqm of leasable space, while the mall will have a gross leasable area of 56,000 sqm spread on four levels.
Robinsons   Galleria Cebu’s anchor tenants will include Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, True Value, Robinsons Appliances, Saizen, and Toys R’ Us. It will also have six cinemas, including two 3D theaters, with a total seating capacity of 1,800. The mall will have about 300 tenants offering a mix of international brands and popular local brands. Tenants will also include homegrown Cebuano retail shops, restaurants, amusement centers and new entertainment attractions.
Robinsons Galleria Cebu is seen to attract shoppers and tourists from nearby   government   offices,   consulates,   churches, hotels, shipping terminals, schools including the University of San Carlos and University of Visayas, and popular tourist destinations such as Magellan’ Cross and three museums.
The mall is slated for completion and opening in 2014. It will come after RLC opens five Robinsons Place malls in Butuan, Roxas City, Malolos, Malabon and Santiago, Isabela.
Go said the masterplan for the Gen. Maxilom property also includes the construction of high-rise residential condominiums which will benefit from the proximity of the mall and BPO offices.
Robinsons Land also owns and operates various properties in Cebu which cuts across RLC’s various business units.
Robinsons Galleria-Cebu will be RLC’s third mall in Cebu after Robinsons Fuente, and Robinsons Cybergate Cebu, which is a mixed use mall and office development also in the Fuente Osmeña area.
 Robinsons Land currently operates the newly renovated and improved Summit Circle Hotel in Fuente Osmeña Circle. The Group will soon have three hotels in Cebu, including the Summit Shores Resort hotel which will be part of the upscale Amisa residential development on Mactan Island.
The firm is also building the Azalea Residences, a residential development in Gorordo Avenue. Other RLC residential properties are Blue Coast and Aspen Heights which are under the Robinsons Communities and Robinsons Homes brands, respectively.

Rivalry in Cebu property market heats up

Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:41 Miguel R. Camus / Reporter

  

THE Gokongwei family’s property arm is turning its attention back to Cebu City, where the clan’s business empire traces its roots, amid tougher competition from rival business families like Henry Sy’s SM Group, which is also aggressively expanding in that city.

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) said it started work on Robinsons Galleria Cebu, a seven-story mixed-use building in the North Reclamation area, which it claims is its largest commercial development outside Metro Manila.

Analysts said the move underscores Cebu’s growing importance as a tourism and outsourcing destination—a fact not lost on the country’s top builders seeking to take a bigger slice of the province’s booming growth. 

The island has recently diversified its economy to become a business process outsourcing (BPO) hub “second only to Metro Manila”with tax incentives and advanced telecommunications facilities helping to lure investments, said Claro Cordero Jr., head of research and valuation for Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu, a property consultancy and brokerage firm.  

“This phenomenon has helped improve the general purchasing power of [Cebu’s ] local economy,” Cordero said in an emailed response on Thursday. “The general outlook is that the O&O [off-shoring and outsourcing ] companies are still likely to operate and expand in Cebu in the medium- to long-term.” 

Robinsons Galleria Cebu will include a 56,000 square meter (sqm) shopping mall, a 153-room gohotel.ph budget hotel, and business process outsourcing offices.  Slated for completion by 2014, it will have a gross floor area (GFA) of 156,000 sqm, but the master plan for the 4.6-hectare lot also includes residential condominiums, RLC president Frederick Go said in the statement.

The new project comes as RLC’s  closest competitors are building even larger shopping facilities. Sy-led SM Prime Holdings Inc. opened last month its second shopping mall in Cebu, called SM City Consolacion, with a GFA of  106,857 sqm. 

In 2014, its opens SM Seaside City Cebu, its biggest shopping center there, with a GFA of 241,600 sqm. SM Prime is also reportedly in talks to acquire a fourth site in Cebu.

Apart from the Sys, Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc., which is already developing residential condominiums in Cebu, said it will build a business process outsourcing complex in the reclaimed South Road Properties area.  Ayala Land Inc. also operates a shopping center in Cebu apart from residential projects. 

Cordero said the growing trend of property developers expanding in Cebu is unlikely to see a reversal anytime soon.

“Coming from a low base in terms of high-rise residential projects of highly dense projects, the highly improving purchasing power of the consumers is seen to sustain these developments and saturation of the market is still far from the horizon,” Cordero said. 

The integrated approach of these builders, he said, attracts both end-users and investors, but not without opening up its own set of risks. “This type of demand [buying for investment purposes] is highly-susceptible to market externalities such as the weak global economic recovery,” he said.

Trumps Eye More Philippine Projects

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Two sons of American tycoon Donald Trump flew in from New York yesterday for the groundbreaking of Trump Tower Manila, a luxury tower to be developed by Century Properties Group and the first of what is hinted to be a series of property projects involving the Trump brand in the Philippines . This will not be our last project in the Philippines . We’re looking forward to rolling out a couple of things," Donald Trump Jr. said in a press briefing. He hinted that talks have started with the Antonio family-led Century group for follow-up projects.

Trump Tower Manila is a US$150-million, 56-storey residential development project of Century with the brand name and mark under license from the Trump. It will rise in Century City , the Century group’s 3.4-hectare flagship development along Kalayaan Avenue in Makati City in Metro Manila.

Century founder and chairman Jose Antonio said this project was very relevant in assisting the positioning of greater Metro Manila as a ¿cosmopolitan¿ city. He noted that cosmopolitan cities elsewhere in the region like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore had captured a lot of investments and having a quality development and a strong brand should groom Metro Manila into a better position.

Quality will always be remembered long after the price has been forgotten," he said.

The residential units in Trump Tower Manila is selling at an average 200,000 pesos ($4,700) a square metre. Based on the size range of between 57 and 400 square metres, the smallest unit is priced at 11.4 million pesos (269,000) and the biggest at 80 million pesos ($1.8 million). The units will be turned over to buyers by 2016.

Robbie Antonio, Century managing director, said 70 per cent of the 222-unit residential development had already been sold since the project was launched in September 2011.

The fact that a Trump-branded development is rising in the Philippines is a testament to the increased confidence of the international sector in our country’s potential to become a world-class destination. As a standard bearer of excellence in residential living, Trump Tower Manila also positions the Philippines as the ideal place of residence for global citizens," the younger Antonio said.

We are overwhelmed with the tremendous success of this project in such a short time. Trump Tower Manila has already received accolades even prior to breaking ground, which is an incredible accomplishment further showcasing the strength of the local market and its increasing demand in the ownership of luxury real estate," Eric Trump said.

He added that the design of Trump Tower Manila was such that the Trumps wanted to have the best building not only in the Philippines but in Asia and the world."

SAMUEL LAO BLOGSITE: Developer aims for middle

SAMUEL LAO BLOGSITE: Developer aims for middle

Healthy economic signs boost real estate sector

By Ehda M. Dagooc (The Freeman) 

CEBU, Philippines - As real estate products such as house and lots and condominiums become more affordable, it is no longer far-fetched for Filipinos to realize their dream of having their own properties, even for the ordinary wage-earners.
 Economist Eduardo R. Banaag, Jr., projected that in the next few years, more Filipinos will be able to own homes, even cars, as banks now ease up requirements for consumer loans to attract more borrowers.
Banaag said economic indicators have reflected the improving purchasing power of the average Filipino, which has in turn encouraged banks to offer attractive consumer loan packages.
He added that the real income of Filipinos has increased by 53 percent in the last five years in terms of per capita income, which has encouraged more developers to build subdivisions to take advantage of the increasing appetite for consumer loans.
The good economic fundamental of the Philippines, which also brought down a stable and lower interest rates, has further widen the doors for consumer credit offers, attracting more Filipinos to buy properties, may it be for personal keep or for investment purposes.
The low single-digit interest rate according to Banaag is expected to sustain in the long term, unless there is an adverse intervention in the economic development of the country, including external factors.
In general, he said interest rates will continue to settle, which in fact may be one of the lowest level in the last couple of years. Thus, he suggested that today is the right time for people to avail of the loans offered by banks.
Aside from the growth of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) employment, tourism, and other industries, the sustained income of OFWs, despite the struggling economies of United States, and Europe also bolstered the improvement of Filipinos’ income.

The country’s financial system is carrying excess liquidity of at least P1.7 billion, and this has to be disposed to the system to further boost the economy.
Among other attractive sources of disposing this money is through loans, in both consumer and corporate loans, Banaag said.
Consumers will be able to get cheaper interest rate loan deals from banks, while corporate clients likewise are offered good rates for capitalization requirements such as real estate development projects, among others.
Last year, growth for real estate loans in the Philippines grew by 20 percent, Banaag said this figure is seen to grow further this year, while more banks are actively creating different packages for consumers partnering with real estate developers. (FREEMAN)

Socialized condos in urban areas

Creba Speaks

By CHARLIE A.V. GORAYEB

MANILA, Philippines — The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) is one of several agencies of government undertaking a revisiting of its policy through the reform of the implementing guidelines governing the modes of compliance to Section 18 of R.A. 7279 or the Urban Development Housing Act (UDHA).

We, in the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders’ Associations, Inc. (CREBA), adhere to our position that any form of alternative compliance should serve to make it easier and attractive for the private sector to comply, and still be able to attain its social objectives.

CREBA commends the HLURB for providing developers more avenues to comply with the law, and at the same time effectively uphold its mandate to deliver housing units for the marginalized beneficiaries.

A World Bank report showed that the Philippines has one of the highest rates of urban growth in the developing world – 5.1 percent in the last four decades. About 60 percent of the population is currently urban, data from the United Nations said.

The Greater Metro Manila area has over 12 million people. This accounts for 36 percent of the total urban population. An additional 10 percent of the urban population are situated in the next four largest metropolitan regions as identified by NEDA: Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Metro Cagayan de Oro and Metro Angeles.

CREBA has presented a package of proposals for the private sector to efficiently do its share in helping address the staggering 3.7-million units housing backlog.

One of these is to urge government to encourage the construction of socialized and low-cost residential condominiums with a minimum floor area of 20 sqm, and the project is located in urban or urbanizing areas.

We invite the government to consider this type of development as an alternative mode of compliance to the balanced housing requirement of the UDHA with all the applicable incentives as provided by existing laws.

These include income tax holidays, exemption from VAT, and such other incentives for BOI-registered projects.

Projects may come in either of the following packages: (1) Socialized five-story walk-up condominiums with a maximum ceiling price of P750,000 per unit; or (2) low-cost six to 12-story condominiums with elevator with a maximum ceiling price P1.2 million per unit.

This targets the urban dwellers who prefer locations near urban development centers, where walking or short travel from place of residence to work, education, and other purposes is vital to the budget. At the same time, this will provide low-income earners access to safe and decent shelter in the city that they can eventually own.

Building vertical residential communities is as timely as it is extremely necessary to start creating opportunities out of the growing scarcity and increasing cost of land in the cities.

With a burgeoning population of close to 100 million as of 2010, which is growing at the rate of 1.9 percent every year, it is easy to infer the enormity of the demand for social and other basic services in the next few decades.

Along with food and clothing, shelter is considered one of mankind’s most basic needs. But the land under our feet cannot be multiplied to match our needs. To optimize the use of land and multiply its benefits, we must plan ahead and begin building vertical communities where families can grow and thrive as a social unit, now before it’s too late.

In order to realize the effective increase in the annual housing target of at least 300,000 new houses annually, government must rationalise the incentives program for housing. This will ensure that all incentives offered by specific agencies are synchronized and are easy to avail of.

To assist the private sector in fulfilling its role in the production and delivery of socialized housing units, the government must perform its mandate as catalyst for growth and national development.

It must therefore eliminate red tape, particularly in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) where documentary requirements are duplicated and provisions of related laws are ignored. This has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks to socialized and low-cost housing delivery. What is needed is less bureaucracy.

That means, quicker release of the necessary licenses and permits, more loanable funds from government financing institutions, and better incentives for real estate developers. There should also be a clear identification of lands that may be set aside for residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial, and other equally vital uses that are already governed by various existing laws