CLI spending P15B to kick-start cheap housing plan, other projects

Cebu Landmasters Inc.

Soberano-led Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) will spend around P15 billion this year to bankroll projects and jump-start a housing program under its sustainability goal.

CLI chief finance officer Grant Cheng told reporters last Friday the budget would be used to support ongoing projects, potential land acquisitions and pipeline developments.

These include at least 4,000 affordable housing units, which the Visayas and Mindanao-focused developer needs to accomplish as part of its sustainability-linked bond issuance.

READ: Cebu Landmasters debuts into coworking space

“We have this P2-million home but we have high-end amenities, and we’re located very close to the highways and main roads,” said CLI chief operating officer Jose Franco Soberano, who also noted these homes typically “sell like hotcakes” due to their low price.

This development came after CLI raised P5 billion from a green bond issuance last week. Under the sustainability-linked framework of green bonds, proceeds need to be used to build 16,000 affordable housing units in the Visayas and Mindanao by February 2029.

By the halfway point of its target, or in February 2027, the developer needs to have built at least 8,500 houses.

If this condition is not met, the interest rates of the bonds will increase, meaning CLI will have to repay its debt at a higher cost.

According to Soberano, they would need at least P10 billion to build these houses, although the amount only accounts for the cost of labor and materials. Land acquisition would be a separate expense, he said.

Next year, CLI aims to start construction for its first project in Luzon, particularly within Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).

CLI plans to spend around P12 billion for its debut in the country’s largest island group. This covers expenses for two horizontal projects with units spanning 40 to 60 square meters each, Soberano said.

The Cebu-based real estate firm, which debuted on the local bourse in 2017, currently has nearly 130 projects across 17 cities in its two main markets.

Its portfolio includes residential developments, offices, hotels and resorts, coliving and coworking spaces, mixed-use projects and large-scale townships.

In the January to September 2024 period, CLI’s bottom line grew by 7 percent to P2.3 billion due to a surge in leasing and hospitality revenues.

Leasing revenues soared by 47 percent to P144 million, while hospitality revenues swelled by more than half to P149 million. —Meg J. Adonis INQ