DoubleDragon gets top credit rating

Listed DoubleDragon Corp., the property venture of tycoons Edgar “Injap” Sia II and Tony Tan Caktiong, received the strongest credit rating from Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) due to its robust balance sheet and growth prospects.

PhilRatings upgraded DoubleDragon’s credit score to PRS Aaa, the developer said in a stock exchange filing. A PRS Aaa score, which indicates a very low default risk, is the highest rating that could be assigned by the firm.

“DoubleDragon Corp., for many years, has been building its business fundamentals brick by brick since it started in 2012 as a joint venture partnership between Tan’s Honeystar Holdings Corp. and Sia’s Injap Investments,” DoubleDragon said in the filing.

The developer has since completed a portfolio of over 1.2 million square meters of leasable gross floor area in various parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Provincial retail market

It also serves the provincial retail market with CityMall community centers, apart from the office portfolio in DD Meridian Park complex in Bay Area Pasay and the 42-story Jollibee Tower in the Ortigas central business district.

Moreover, DoubleDragon operates CentralHub warehouse complexes and hybrid condotels via the Hotel 101 brand, which is expanding in Japan following the purchase of a 9,000-square meter property in the Hokkaido region.

DoubleDragon ended the first semester of the year with total assets of P146.7 billion and total equity of P71.44 billion. Moreover, its debt-to-equity standing remained healthy while cash holdings stood at P7.87 billion. Plans to expand its hotel and leasing segments would help DoubleDragon transform from a business startup to a “fully mature” company by 2025, Sia said last September.

Plans for Hotel 101

He also plans to grow Hotel 101 into a global name with outlets in over 100 countries.

Sia previously told the Inquirer he planned to take the hotel business public via an initial public offering in Singapore by 2025.

Hotel 101 is building new outlets in Bonifacio Global City, Libis, Cebu, Boracay, Bohol, Palawan and Davao as well as its first intentional location in Japan’s Niseko ski resort town.

DoubleDragon earlier ended the first half with consolidated core profits of P1.2 billion, up 29 percent. Revenues during the period jumped 26.8 percent to P3.41 billion. INQ