PHA secures P15-B funding for projects

Investment holding firm Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp. (PHA) has tapped a P15-billion long-term funding facility from Doha-based Sama Global Investment that can be converted into a controlling stake in the local firm.

PHA disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it had entered into a memorandum of agreement with Sama Global for this funding facility that would be tapped to finance real estate, tourism hospitality, tourism and infrastructure construction, power generation and financial services undertakings.

The facility will have a term of nine years with a fixed interest of 1.25 percent a year payable yearly, according to the disclosure. In 2021, Sama Global will have the right to convert, in whole or in part, the funding into ownership of up to 60 percent in PHA in accordance with foreign ownership laws and regulations.

Headquartered in Qatar, Sama Global Investment is an investment management firm that provides investment strategies to serve a broad spectrum of client needs.

PHA sees itself as a “countryside enabler” and has been undertaking two projects in the real estate and tourism sectors. PHA is developing a master-planned tourism estate in Puerto Princesa City that brings together serene mountainside resorts and beach retreats through its West Palawan Premiere subsidiary.

Last year, PHA said its subsidiary, West Palawan Premiere Development Corp. (WPPDC), was collaborating with Thai hospitality group Dusit to develop hotels in its tourism estate in Puerto Princesa.

Among the group’s master-planned development projects is the 100-hectare North Cove Development, one of the seven development pods of the master plan drawn up by American engineering firm Aecom. Envisioned to be the first eco-tourism estate in Puerto Princesa City, the development is only a 40-minute drive from the new Puerto Princesa International Airport.

PHA currently owns 85 percent of WPPDC.