Cebu developer sets P12-B investment plan

Cebu-based property developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) has unveiled a P12-billion investment program for the next two years as it pitches to the stock market a new property play anchored on strong growth prospects in the Visayas and Mindanao (Vismin) region.

CLI founder, president and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III—a former Ayala Land executive who decided to put up his own property company 12 years ago—said on Wednesda the proposed P3.8-billion initial public offering was targeted by May this year.

“We’d like to set the trail for other (local) developers to follow,” said Soberano.

CLI’s target is to be the premier developer in Vismin and unlock P10 billion in annual revenues by 2020, he said. Last year, revenues amounted to P2.18 billion, out of which it made a net profit of P702 million from the construction mostly of economic housing and mid-end projects in Cebu.

“We are setting our sights on the VisMin region where we have the capacity to win, where there is high demand for value and quality development and where there are still opportunities for significant growth,” he added.

CLI’s P12-billion capital spending for the next two years would cover projects in the pipeline, said CLI chief operating officer Jose Franco Soberano, the founder’s son.

“We’re offering a growth story. We’re a young company looking forward to growing more. For us, the momentum is just picking up and we’re excited,” he said.

Majority of the projects will consist of more than 7,000 economic housing units ranging in price from P800,000 to P1.7 million in the provinces of Dumaguete, Cebu and Bohol as well as in the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod. CLI also intends to launch mid-end units with prices ranging from P1.8 million to P5 million in Metro Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao City.