Ayala Land, AboitizLand firm up Cebu dev’t deal

The Ayala and Aboitiz conglomerates have expanded their partnership from infrastructure to real estate by signing a deal for the joint development of several pieces of property in Cebu.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Ayala Land Inc. said it had agreed in principle with Aboitiz Land Inc. to enter into a 50-50 percent joint venture for the development of the Cebu properties.

ALI said the joint venture with AboitizLand, which it considers to be “a well-established and strong partner in Cebu,” would be consistent with its growth strategy of pursuing more developments in major urban areas of the country.

Cebu is one of the most progressive metropolitan areas in the Philippines, Ayala Land pointed out.

With the joint venture, Ayala Land believes that only the best will emerge once it combines the experience of AboitizLand in developing diverse real estate products in Cebu with ALI’s expertise in building a full range of real estate formats including large-scale integrated, mixed-use communities, the disclosure said.

“We are excited about the prospect of entering into this joint venture and gaining a well-established and strong partner in Cebu such as AboitizLand,” ALI president Antonino Aquino.

“This is consistent with our growth strategy of establishing more developments in major urban areas of the country, Cebu being one of the most progressive metropolitan areas in the Philippines,” Aquino added.

AboitizLand president Andoni Aboitiz likewise welcomed “this opportunity to work with Ayala Land.”

Aboitiz said that AboitizLand would be taking “a strategic step in an increasingly competitive environment” once it partners “with the country’s premier developer, who we believe shares our vision of creating long-term value for the Cebu community.

The Ayala and Aboitz groups have also teamed up to bid for a P17-billion project to redevelop the Mactan Cebu International Airport through the public-private partnership program.