BIZ BUZZ: ‘KKB’ ramps to C-5 Skyway

Construction of ramps along C-5 road that will connect Arca South estate of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) to Skyway Stage 4, aka South East Metro Manila Expressway, of San Miguel Corp. will soon begin.

When the Arca South-San Miguel Skyway Stage 4 integration agreement was announced late last year, it wasn’t clear how the collaboration works. Specifically, who will foot the bill for building the north- and south-bound ramps that would link Arca South to the elevated toll road? Typically, it’s the infrastructure developer/concessionaire, but in this case, it’s a KKB, or kanya kanyang bayad (pay for your own) arrangement. ALI, however, is more than willing to shoulder the cost of building the ramps.

For the property giant, paying for this infrastructure is worth it as it’s the fastest way to ensure Skyway Stage 4 connectivity to Arca South—the former FTI complex that is now being developed into a new central business district. Easier access to Arca South boosts its marketability while San Miguel, for its part, will also benefit from an increase in vehicular traffic. It’s a win-win deal.

The 32.66-kilometer Skyway Stage 4 connects the Skyway system at the Arca South all the way to Batasan Complex in Quezon City, providing an alternate route from the south to the eastern parts of Metro Manila as well as Rizal province.

Meanwhile, proponents are just working on completing right-of-way issues as the ramp project will infringe on part of Veterans Industrial Park area. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Club shares outperformed

It turns out that golf club membership was great investment after all as share prices in certain clubs swung to a nearly 200 percent return over the past year versus a 1.8 percent drop at the Philippine Stock Exchange Index.

Golf clubs outside Metro Manila were leading the pack in terms of value growth due to their more accessible price points, data from Leechiu Property Consultants showed.

We’re talking about the likes of Valley Golf and Country Club in Rizal whose shares soared 173 percent to P9 million in 2023, and Sta. Elena and Country Estate, where a club share is worth P40 million—up 158 percent.

The most modestly priced membership was Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club. From P810,000 in 2022, these were worth P1.8 million last year, translating to an annual increase of 128 percent.

Even in Metro Manila, golf and membership clubs saw double-digit gains despite their eye-watering prices.

At the very top was Manila Golf in Makati City, where a club share is now worth P200 million (+82 percent). This was followed by other elite establishments such as Wack-Wack Country Club at P110 million (+69 percent) and Manila Polo Club at P60 million (+33 percent). One can save a few millions by venturing further south to play in Alabang Country Club, where a share costs P21 million (+11 percent). —Miguel R. Camus

ICTSI’s ‘net zero’ commitment

Tycoon Enrique Razon-led International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is the latest among the very few big local business groups to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“Our commitment to decarbonization targets marks an important step in our journey to becoming a more sustainable company and as part of this, we are actively implementing initiatives to maximize energy and resource efficiency, reduce carbon intensity and lower emissions,” Christian Gonzalez, ICTSI executive vice president, compliance officer and chief sustainability officer said.

In the interim period, ICTSI commits to reduce its emissions directly from its operations (scope 1) and purchased electricity (scope 2) by 26 percent per container move by 2030, benchmarked against a 2021 baseline. It’s also actively evaluating emissions across its entire value chain (scope 3) and vowed to develop an inventory by 2025, followed by a target review. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla