P2.5 Billion joint venture a big boost to Cagayan de Oro City

• Investment part of Ayala’s projected P27.17-billion capex this year

By LEN VELASCO, Reporter
THE P2.5-billion joint venture by property giant Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and Floirendo family’s Anflo Management & Investment Corp. and Mindanao Motors Corp. (Anflogroup) for a mixed-use development in Cagayan de Oro is expected to give a big boost to the city’s economy.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Ayala Land said total initial investment for the project would reach P2.5 billion, including the construction of a shopping mall, an office building catering to business process outsourcing companies and a boutique hotel. Read More


“The City of Cagayan de Oro is a trade and commercial center serving as a transport hub for the Northern Mindanao and considered as a high growth area. With Ayala Land’s unmatched experience in developing world class real estate developments and the Anflogroup’s strong corporate presence in the area, the project is envisioned to be an integrated mixed-use development that will change Cagayan de Oro’s urban landscape,” the company, in a statement, said.

The deal, which is the second for the Ayala and Floirendo groups, forms part of Ayala Land’s P27.17-billion capital expenditures (capex) this year.
“Ayala Land recently signed a joint venture
agreement with Anflo Management & Investment Corp. and Mindanao Motors Corp. (Anflogroup) for the development of a 3.2-hectare property along Claro M. Recto Avenue at the heart of Cagayan de Oro City,” the firm said.

Under the deal, the partners will put up a centerpiece shopping mall with approximately 40,000 square meters of gross leasable area. “Construction on the shopping site is expected to begin towards the end of 2010 and will be completed by 2012,” the property developer said.
After the shopping center, Ayala Land will construct a business process outsourcing-oriented office building and a boutique hotel.

Ayala Land earlier said it planned to spend P27.2 billion this year to finance the construction of 32 real estate projects, including new malls, office buildings and residential condominiums.
Anflogroup is a local holding firm established in 1977 by Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr. It is engaged in the export of bananas and pineapples, real estate development and leasing, beach resort operations, and manufacturing, among others.

Ayala Land saw profits decline by more than a tenth last year, as the global economic downturn dampened the real estate sector. In its financial report, Ayala Land said net income dropped to P4.681 billion last year from P5.382 billion in 2008 and P5.095 billion in 2007.
Shares in the property firm closed higher at P11.25 apiece on Friday.