Biz Buzz: Live-work-play … love

The “live-work-play” township is an often-mouthed master-planning model in the local property scene. But real estate developer Profriends Group Inc.—whose flagship project is the Lancaster New City in Cavite—is adding a new twist to this blueprint.

Profriends’ pitch for Lancaster is “live-work-play-worship,” having the Church of the Holy Family integrated into the estate.

But Roberto Juanchito “Jojo” Dispo, president of First Metro Investment Corp. (an issue manager and lead underwriter for Profriends’ proposed initial public offering of P7.7 billion) said in jest that “love” should be woven into Lancaster’s theme because this township is the site of “Kapamilya” ABS-CBN’s new reality TV show “I Do,” which premiered in end-August (the one that replaced the last edition of another reality TV program, Pinoy Big Brother).

Profriends, one of the sponsors of the reality show hosted by Judy Ann Santos and Jayson Gainza, has provided a contained location/guesthouse for the new program, which features nine couples who are in a race to the altar and are made to compete in a series of challenges that can make or break their forthcoming union.

At the end of the race, the winning couple (which will be determined by public voting) will settle down with P1 million in seed money apart from receiving a house and lot and their dream wedding. Some show biz mileage ahead of stock market debut, that is.

Unlike another housing developer, which likewise got involved into the reality TV ahead of an IPO that was pre-empted by a scandal, Profriends seems on track and is only awaiting regulatory approvals for its IPO, which will bring to public hands about 10.9 percent of the company.

Dispo also noted that since this was Profriends’ first foray into the capital markets, company chair and founder Guillermo Choa was likely to leave some money on the table by allowing the IPO to be priced at a discount to the 14 to 15 times forward-looking 2015 price-to-earnings ratio where listed peers are trading to date. Doris C. Dumlao

Robinsons Mall app

Robinsons Land Corp. is set to unveil on Oct. 15 at Robinsons Galleria a new mobile app, touted as the first truly interactive and easy-to-use app. Features on mall indoor routing are promised to be richer than all other apps earlier rolled out by other local mall operators.

Available for free at the iOS App and Android Play Store, the app allows users to find their favorite stores, the nearest restroom, record their parking space and find out the latest events and promos like concerts and mall-wide sales. Using the same app, movie tickets and snacks can be purchased online via credit card. To make it even more convenient to users, purchased snacks can be delivered right to where the buyers are seated. (A maximum of 10 tickets can be purchased for every transaction with a P10 online charge). The app also allows pre-scheduling of the next movie date as the app contains the “coming soon” movies.

Robinsons Privilege Card holders, numbering more than 35,000 now, can also access the app to be reacquainted with their privileges, listing the stores offering discounts and freebies. For those renewing their passport of driver’s license, the app has a directory of “Lingkod Pinoy” one-stop shops for government transactions (SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG Fund, Owwa, POEA, NBI, LTO and DFA).

For those using public transportation, the app can direct the user to nearest Robinsons Mall or give directions to a particular one. Special attention is also made to help persons with disability by leading them to all the elevators and ramps.

And for the social media junkie, the app has a “share” feature that allows app users to update their Facebook friends on their current destination. Doris C. Dumlao

Ayala to boycott Calax rebid?

There is a lonely little corner in the public private partnership (PPP) center’s website for projects that have been awarded.

Now that the LRT-1 Cavite extension deal has been bagged by the Metro Pacific Investments-Ayala Corp. consortium, there remains just the Cavite-Laguna Expressway deal—an overstaying tenant by almost four months and counting.

Despite its solitude, the circumstances behind the delay are far more colorful, ranging from a somewhat passive-aggressive tussle among big business players to the highest political office, or that of President Aquino, who has yet to decide on an appeal by disqualified conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

Now, for a quick recap. SMC sought Aquino’s intervention after it was disqualified last June, effectively halting the then-expected awarding to an Ayala-Aboitiz consortium, which had offered an P11.66-billion premium payment, the “highest complying” bid, edging out two other groups.

SMC, after all, has a compelling argument. It was disqualified by the Department of Public Works and Highways on a technicality due to a four-day deficiency in its bid validity, and of course, it had offered a P20.1-billion premium. (That amount has been assailed as a “spoiled bid” by its detractors because SMC had opened and removed its bid box from the DPWH premises).

This happened months ago, but new worries among big investors are cropping up with speculation that the President is keen on ordering a re-bidding of the contract.

On the surface, it sounds like a Solomonic decision. But we hear it’s one that international investors—the ones the PPP Center needs to lure for ever larger projects—are unlikely to welcome.

Never mind that a re-bidding is not what SMC is seeking or its possibly questionable legal basis, or even the fact that the President’s closest advisers, our sources say, have counseled against this.

Let’s take a glaring example on how complicated it could get. If a re-bid is ordered, there will now essentially be a “floor price,” which is SMC’s bid.

What we’re saying is, if you don’t have an extra P20 billion in cash lying around, and we’re talking a premium offer on top of the tollroad’s P35.4-billion construction cost, then there is no point in participating.

It seems other bidders have the same idea—we heard from Ayala’s managing director John Eric Francia that the company was unlikely to participate in the event of a re-bid. We got similar comments from officials from the two other participants: Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Malaysia’s MTD Group.

So that might be good for this particular project but how about for those moving forward? A neither-here-nor-there decision might not be what the project, or the PPP Program, needs. Miguel R. Camus

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