Alphaland embarking on upscale projects

Alphaland Corp., a joint venture between the group of former Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin and British fund Ashmore, is investing more than P28 billion in the next eight to 10 years to develop upscale property projects.

The company also plans to make a follow-on public offering of shares to comply with the 10 percent minimum public ownership required by the Philippine Stock Exchange by November but only if market conditions are conducive, top company officials said Thursday.

At present, less than 1 percent of Alphaland shares is held and traded by the public.

If every listed company that falls below the PSE requirement scrambles would sell shares just to meet the November deadline, Ongpin said it won’t be good for the market.

“There has got to be a more logical and sound approach so that the market values are not overly constrained,” Ongpin said.

Alphaland Southgate Tower and Mall, which was taken over by the group in 2009, now has 84 percent of its office space leased out while the occupancy rate for the shopping mall space is 90 percent, Alphaland president Mario Oreta said.

For this year, Oreta said capital spending was set at P3 billion, as the company would pursue the development of various upscale projects, including leisure estates Balesin Island Club; Boracay Gateway Country Club; Makati Place, which will include urban leisure hub The City Place; the 35-story Makati Tower; and seaside mixed-use development Alphaland Bay City.

Development cost for island resort Balesin was estimated at P3 billion excluding land, which is valued at about P860 million. This 409-hectare development will be subdivided into six villages that take inspiration from the most luxurious beachside destinations across the globe: St. Tropez (Cote d’ Azur); Phuket (Thailand); Costa Smeralda (Sardinia); Bali (Indonesia), Mykonos (Greece) and Balesin (Philippines).