MANILA - A unit of Ayala Land Inc (ALI) has sealed a deal with IRC Properties Inc to purchase a portion of the latter's land bank in Binangonan, Rizal.
Amaia Land president Ricky Celis today told reporters that the company bought a 20-hectare property from IRC.
"We had an initial area that Amaia had gotten into. That got closed. That's the only part that has been completed at this point," ALI president Antonino Aquino said.
He said additional purchases within the property will be subject to negotiations.
"It's dependent on due diligence findings that we will be able to have on that side—if the area will become contiguous, if it will have technical characteristics that will make it commercially developable," Aquino said.
ALI had expressed interest in expanding eastwards from Metro Manila, citing the high concentration of people in the area who can afford some of its brands.
The developer of the Sunshine Fiesta subdivision project, IRC has a land bank of about 2,200 hectares in Binangonan, Rizal.
The real estate arm of the Ayala group is also in negotiations to acquire a portion of the 3,000-hectare Puerto Azul property of Boulevard Holdings Inc (BHI) in Ternate, Cavite. The deal will be completed 100 days after signing the memorandum of agreement, Aquino said.
Earlier this month, the Panlilio-led BHI said it will sell parcels of land totaling 400 hectares to ALI for P2.3 billion.
However, Aquino declined to comment on the size of the property, saying it is subject to a technical and legal due diligence.
When asked if it will enter into future joint venture deals with BHI for the remaining portion of the property, Aquino said: "That's possible."
"Frankly, we have not done that second part. We precisely would like to finish that initial due diligence. Maybe after that due diligence, we could all have a better understanding what could be the future possibilities," he said.
ALI will transform the BHI property into a high-end mixed-used community that will carry its luxury brand Ayala LandPremier.
Even with the prospect of higher interest rates, the real estate market continues to be “good” in the first quarter of the year as ALI reaps the benefits of its growth strategy to expand its geographical footprint and be present across all market segments through its five residential brands, Aquino said.
“If ever, there can be potentially some [areas which are slowing down]. The major statement I will make, the fundamental demand is strong on a total basis. I don’t know about specific areas. If it’s an area on the soft side, we will not be there,” he said.
ALI netted P11.74 billion in 2013, up 30 percent from the P9.04 billion profit in 2012, allowing the company to hit its P10-billion five-year earnings target a year ahead of schedule.
To maintain the company's growth trajectory, ALI is allotting P70 billion for its capital expenditures this year, an improvement from the P66.26 billion spent in 2013, to complete ongoing projects and bankroll new launches. The property developer plans to launch 78 projects this year with an estimated value of P142 billion.
