GSIS plans to bid out more assets in H1

Pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is planning to dispose of more properties in the first half of this year.

This was even as GSIS president and general manager Robert G. Vergara disclosed to reporters the failure of the bidding for the former Jai-Alai property in Manila last year.

For this year, Vergara said the GSIS might “get one auction going” in the first half. He, however, did not elaborate.

“But in the event that becomes too difficult, then perhaps we’ll just look at some time in the second half of the year,” he added.

The GSIS is already preparing for the disposition of a number of properties, he said.

“We’re going through our properties and we’re conducting appraisal—we need to do that to set a minimum price.”

The last time the GSIS was able to successfully sell assets was in 2014, when two prime lots in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) were bid out.

The GSIS sold to Goldenwill Inc. the 1,600-square meter Fort Bonifacio “7-3” lot on 25th Street corner 6th Avenue for P732 million, 41 percent higher than the minimum bid price of P520 million or P325,000 per square meter.

Also bid out by the GSIS was the adjacent “7-4” lot, for which Focus Palantir Inc. had submitted the highest offer of P800 million or P500,000 per square meter. The 1,600-square meter property is at the corner of 25th Street and 7th Avenue.

Vergara noted that the GSIS still had an 8,000-square meter property in BGC, but it was planning to “sit on it for a while” as land rates continued to shoot up in the fast-rising business and commercial hub.

Despite the successful sale of its two Fort Bonifacio lots, GSIS  in 2014, failed to dispose of the almost two-hectare former Water Fun resort property in Sucat, Muntinlupa City, which did not attract any bidder. The GSIS had set a minimum bid price of P35,000 per square meter for a total of P672.4 million for this property.