Megaworld eyes more land, investments in tech startups

Billionaire Andrew Tan’s Megaworld Corp. is ready to make new investments in technology startups and scoop up land deals while the COVID-19 pandemic forces the property giant to slow down on real estate launches. During its annual meeting on Monday, Megaworld also assured shareholders there were plans for a recovery despite the economic downturn, which had cut its stock price by about 26 percent so far this year.

“Our strong financial standing puts us in an exceptionally good position to weather the crisis and take advantage of the opportunities that will arise once recovery begins,” Tan, who sits as Megaworld’s chair, CEO and president, said on Monday.

Kevin Tan, Megworld chief strategy officer, outlined a multistep recovery plan calibrated to when the economy and consumer sentiments improve.

More importantly, he said the company would continue to spend in select areas despite slashing capital expenses this year by 40 percent to P36 billion.New technology investments, through Agile Digital Ventures, will remain active in the areas of food, retail and hospitality.On Aug. 18, Megaworld launched its first startup investment called PICK.A.ROO, an on-demand delivery app that will help its malls and retail partners expand online as movements are restricted by the pandemic.

“We will also be on the lookout for other investment opportunities in the digital technology platforms that will further boost Megaworld’s core businesses,” the younger Tan said.Apart from startups, Megaworld will continue to buy more land for future developments.

This will sustain project expansion once the business environment improves. For now, Tan said Megaworld would finish projects committed for completion.“New launches will be very opportunistic depending on market demand,” he said.

The hotel business, also significantly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, will grow in select areas such as Boracay, Tagaytay and Cebu.Despite the resiliency of the office space leasing segment in the first semester of 2020, Megaworld saw profit in the first semester drop 34 percent to P5.9 billion. Total revenues likewise declined 25 percent to P23.8 billion.

During the meeting, Megaworld officials pointed out that crises are familiar territory for the builder, which started in the late 1980s after the fall of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

It is best known for developing the Eastwood City integrated project in Quezon City around the time of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. To date, Megworld has built 26 township projects across the country. INQ