Ayala extended P13.1-B HELP so far in virus battle

The country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp. has contributed a total of P13.1 billion so far in the intervention efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of which were from its property crown jewel Ayala Land Inc. (ALI)

“With the steady rollout of our ambitious national vaccination program, of which the Ayala group and especially Ayala Land will play a critical role, I believe that we can start to show signs of recovery by the second half of this year,” ALI chair Fernando Zobel de Ayala said during the property company’s stockholders meeting on Wednesday.

Still, ALI’s journey to full recovery—or a return to its earnings performance prepandemic—would take around two to three years, ALI president Bernard Vincent Dy added.

“We are working towards a V-shaped recovery and I am confident that we have the institutional capability, required resources and a strong balance sheet to achieve this objective,” Dy said.

This year, ALI has earmarked P88 billion for capital outlays, larger than the P63.7 billion spent last year.

Assisting the country in its battle against COVID-19, ALI has provided significant and timely assistance to its merchants through major rent condonations and marketing and sales support through the many digital platforms by the Ayala Malls group, Zobel said. ALI employees also generated P82.6 million worth of donations. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA INQ