RLC sets China project

GOKONGWEI-LED property developer Robinsons Land Corp. will soon debut in mainland China’s residential property market with a 1,300-unit master-planned township project in Chengdu.

The master plan has been completed but this would still be subject to government approvals, RLC president Frederick Go said in an interview.

Although the group is no stranger to the property sector in China, this is the first property project of the Gokongwei group in China that has been folded into RLC. The group got into this project by winning a bidding participated in by 10 investors.

RLC bought the right to use the 8.5-hectare property in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province or the “Heavenly State,” last year. Chengdu is well-known as the natural habitat of the adorable giant pandas.

“We’ll focus on this before pursing another one,” Go said, adding that the development would have a mix of villas and multiple towers.

Go said preselling of residential units in China was generally allowed as soon as construction has started although the rules might vary from city to city. “You can’t presell before construction. You must have completed a certain amount of work but usually, once you reach the ground floor, you can begin preselling,” he said.

During preselling activities, Go explained that developers would get paid in full, unlike in the Philippines where preselling payment is staggered.

The project in Chengdu is expected to be a five- to 10-year development.

“Based on our experience in China, the real estate market is quite good,” Go said. Apart from rising consumer wealth, he said there was pent up demand for residential units in China. In this market, Go said a two-bedroom unit would be more common than a studio, in contrast to typical units sold in the Philippines.

Developers are also required to infuse a lot of greenery in their developments, which are typically low-density. In the RLC development, he noted that there might be only 60 units per tower.