SEC clears Global One Hotel rental pool deals

MANILA, Philippines – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the rental pool program of Megaworld’s Global One Hotel Group Inc., as part of its streamlined framework for real estate investment contracts.

The regulator said Tuesday that its Commission En Banc approved Global One Hotel’s registration statement covering 6,340 participation certificates across 12 condotel projects, subject to remaining requirements.

READ: SEC starts to regulate sale of condotels, rental pool assets

The approval was granted under the SEC’s guidelines on Securing and Expanding Capital in Real Estate Non-Traditional Securities (RENT). The SEC RENT aims to simplify the registration process for real estate firms offering investment contracts through rental pool arrangements.

Of the total units covered by the program, 4,277 have already been sold, while 2,063 remain unsold.

The SEC said investors may participate in the program without paying a joining fee, and no specific offer price has been set.

Moreover, Global One Hotel’s portfolio includes 12 condominium hotel projects located in key tourism and business destinations nationwide.

Six projects in Parañaque City, Pasay City and Cebu are already operational, while other projects in Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Palawan, Pampanga and Pasig City are still under construction.

“Under the program, Global One Hotel will lease and manage the condominium units either by itself, through a subsidiary or affiliate, a third party, and make them available to paying guests as hotel rooms,” the SEC said.

Investors enroll their units to the program are entitled to get a share of the profits generated from the rental operations.

The SEC said the rental pool deals will remain valid for 15 years from the date the hotel admits its first paying guests. Lease agreements will automatically renew for another 15 years unless otherwise provided by Global One Hotel.

Implemented through SEC Memorandum Circular No. 12, Series of 2024, SEC RENT was introduced to provide a more efficient registration process for developers offering investment contracts tied to real estate projects such as condominiums, hotels and resorts.

Under such arrangements, property buyers place their units into a common rental pool managed by the developer or a third-party operator in exchange for a share of rental income, allowing investors to participate in the commercial operations of the project. /pai INQ