Biz Buzz: P1B Forbes residence
FILIPINO boxing champ Manny Pacquiao made headlines last year on his plan to sell his Forbes Park, Makati City mansion at a reported eye-popping valuation of more than P400,000 per square meter, about double the current rate.
But apparently that’s not the priciest property in Makati City’s, or even the country’s, most prestigious address.
Online broker Hoppler, which claims to have the most comprehensive list of “choice” real estate in the country, has listed a 2,000-square meter South Forbes Park property for a cool P1 billion.
So what does P1 billion buy you? The fully furnished nine-bedroom, 10-bathroom house, whose owner our broker contacts were unable to unmask, has a floor area of 1,750 sqm.
It comes with the usual luxury amenities like a swimming pool and security.
Unusually though, only “four parking spaces” are provided, which should rule out buyers who also happen to be car collectors (or basically any wealthy person with more than four cars).
So pricey is the home, apparently unsold for more than a year now, that it was part of a recent list complied by Canada’s property listings website Point2 Homes showing the 25 most expensive homes in 25 countries.
The Forbes Park mansion and its mysterious owner join other luxury homes like a $400-million (P17.6 billion) five-story penthouse in Monaco.
As you may have computed already, the South Forbes house retails for P500,000 per sqm, well above going rates.
In fact, a Forbes Park seller would be doing quite well for himself or herself to sell a home at P200,000 per sqm, Claro Cordero, research head at Jones Lang LaSalle’s Philippine office, told Biz Buzz.
“The seller might just be testing the market,” Cordero noted.
Believe it or not, this mansion comes at a slight bargain on a per square meter basis to two of its neighbors in Forbes Park. Also listed on Hoppler, these houses each have a lot area of 1,750 sqm and are on the market for P950 million, about P543,000 per sqm.
Interpret what you will on what that says about the state of the property market in the Philippines but that looks like a windfall for any seller—and a fat commission for their brokers. Miguel R. Camus
Quitting bull
THE STOCK market may be sizzling nowadays, but not everyone wants to be in this business apparently.
In fact, long-time stock brokerage Francisco Ortigas Securities Inc. is closing shop.
Industry sources told Biz Buzz that the brokerage had advised the Philippine Stock Exchange of its intention to cease operations effective this month.
Unlike other brokers that have been forced to shut down due to non-compliance, if not deficiencies in certain requirements, Pasig City-based F. Ortigas is bowing out of the market voluntarily.
Some theorize that this may have something to do with the deal with the SM group over the parent property firm, which will unlock a lot of money for this particular side of the family which can be plowed into other things—those which the next generation cousins may be more passionate about.
The popular theory is that the cousins involved in this now business want to retire.
At the same time, competition is tough and trading volumes aren’t big enough for the principal investors’ liking.
Some refer to the situation as a “PNA” or “pahinga na, anak” (take a break, child) route.
The stock brokerage, however, can’t fold up operations as soon as it wanted to.
According to the grapevine, they were told that the process of ceasing operations for a trading participant will take sometime. Because the brokerage presumably has clients with active trading accounts, these will have to be absorbed by another brokerage house.
The shortlist of successor brokerage houses will have to be approved by the PSE’s market regulation unit, the Capital Market Integrity Corp. (CMIC).
In other words, one has to clean up the house before the PSE and CMIC can allow a graceful exit. Doris C. Dumlao
Worst over?
SHARES of LT Group Inc. (LTG) have risen by 11.4 percent in the last two days, on relatively heavy volume at that, as investors expect a turnaround in the group’s cigarette business.
After losing some market share to low-end rival Mighty Corp., and the heated arguments over tax and customs tariff liabilities, there are rising expectations that the erosion in market share may be over for Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp (PMFTC).
Mighty, after all, has increased its retail prices, thereby reducing the incentive for consumers to shift to lower-end products, while giving room for PMFTC to likewise adjust upward the prices of its version of down-market products.
Because the tobacco business accounts for a big portion of LTG’s net asset value, this development is thus seen as a big plus for “Kapitan” Lucio Tan-led tobacco, beer and airline conglomerate. Doris C. Dumlao
Unified tollroad schemes
THE RECENTLY approved plan to integrate the payment systems of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx)—both controlled by the Metro Pacific group of businessman Manuel Pangilinan—is being welcomed by motorists who frequently drive up north, but few know that the scheme has been gathering dust on regulators’ tables, waiting for stamps of approval for many years now.
Biz Buzz learned that Metro Pacific made the proposal to integrate the toll payment systems of NLEx and SCTEx as 2011 (but was conceptualized even earlier, as early as 2009).
But since Metro Pacific’s hold over operations and maintenance contract for SCTEx was neither sure nor clear at that time, nothing happened to the integration proposal, leaving many motorists frustrated with the often horrendous traffic buildup where NLEx met SCTEx in Pampanga.
But thanks to Senate President Franklin Drilon (and thousands of other motorists) having been stuck in his vehicle for 12 hours during a recent holiday exodus, the integration plan has received a fresh push, resulting in yesterday’s
The deal will result in the adoption of a common ticket system which will make operations more efficient and enhance motorists’ convenience.
A unified electronic radio billing system will be used for both toll highways, eliminating the need for motorists to stop at toll booths.
But a little known fact is that Metro Pacific’s rival conglomerate, the San Miguel group, has also been developing a unified electronic payment system for the many tollroad concessions it has in its portfolio.
Once implemented, motorists will be able to travel seamlessly—without stopping at booths—between the Skyway system, the South Luzon Expressway, the Star Tollway, the Naia Expressway, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union expressway and (maybe) the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.
In any case, yesterday’s signing of the NLEx-SCTEx toll payment integration deal was held between the Metro Pacific group, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Toll Regulatory Board at—where else?—the office of Sen. Drilon. Daxim L. Lucas
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