BIZ BUZZ: Coming soon: Sotheby’s realtor

With demand for private jets, yachts, art pieces and luxury villas seemingly on the rise in the Philippines, the economy is creating a bigger pool of high-net worth individuals, although admittedly still tiny relative to the total population.

This improving consumer affluence got into the radar of the realty unit of Sotheby’s, the storied auction house known for bringing to the market some of the world’s rarest and most exceptional treasures since setting up shop in London back in 1744.

We’re talking about Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC, which is debuting in the country in the coming days. This is in partnership with a seasoned realtor with more than 15 years of professional experience in the luxury real estate sector.

Founded in 1976 to provide independent brokerages with a powerful marketing and referral program for luxury listings, Sotheby’s International Realty network was “designed to connect the finest independent real estate companies to the most prestigious clientele in the world,” according to its website.

This is a subsidiary of New York Stock Exchange-listed Anywhere Real Estate Inc., which is into real estate franchising and brokerage as well as relocation and settlement services.

Affiliations in the Sotheby’s system are “granted only to brokerages and individuals meeting strict qualifications.”

Why is the venerable network coming to town? We were told it’s due to the “consistent rise in demand for luxury properties in the country from their affluent international clientele.”

No catalogue of up-for-grabs local real estate assets is publicly available yet, but the network briefer includes this interesting pitch, “For the ultimate privacy, the Philippines is one of the few countries in which an entire island can be had.”

Cognizant of the Constitutional prohibition on foreign ownership of land, however, it noted, “Like many parts of Asia and the South Pacific, ownership is in the form of a long-term lease.” — Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Injap Sia gives back to SSS

Almost three decades after tycoon Edgar “Injap” Sia II took out a corporate loan from the Social Security System (SSS) to help him build his empire, the businessman is giving back to the state pension fund that supported him.

In a landmark partnership, Sia’s DoubleDragon Corp. committed to fully subsidize the SSS contributions of 2,000 informal sector workers in his home region of Visayas.

And for that SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph Montes De Claro thanked Sia for heeding the call of SSS last January for government and businesses to support Filipino workers and their families through the SSS Contribution Subsidy Provider Program (CSPP).

“This SSS contribution subsidy will not only support the 2,000 recipients but will also benefit their extended families,” De Claro explained.

“It will provide these informal sector workers with the opportunity to join the SSS and gain access to its benefits.”

For Sia, it was his way of thanking the SSS for giving entrepreneurs like him “a chance to be able to pay it forward”. –– Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral