Filinvest gave best offer for South Road Properties lots – Tomas

By Marian Christie Codilla
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 12:24:00 03/27/2008

A REAL estate firm has the inside track among interested investors negotiating for prime South Road Property (SRP) lots.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said Filinvest Land Inc. has the best offer among the two other investors – SM group and Ayala group.



“I have to look at what is best for the city and so I have to accept the best offer and that is Filinvest,” Osmeña said.

Osmeña, however, did not give the details of the proposal. He said the deal will have to be closed at the proper time because it has to undergo a public bidding.

“I don't mind disclosing (details) but some of them are sensitive about these matters. There is a pressure when we disclose this case because if so, we would have to stop negotiating with SM and Ayala," he said.

He said the best option for the city is to make a deal with only one party and then negotiate with the other two parties.

He said he has not yet started talking with SM and Ayala but they had submitted their offers but he rejected them.

Osmeña earlier said that the three investors were interested to acquire 40 hectares to 50 hectares of the 300 hectare SRP.

He said one investor is interested to construct a high-rise condominium and a mall at the SRP.

Osmeña said that the downpayment of P500 million he expects to receive from one of the investors is enough to pay for this year's amortization with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The city government allocates at least P500 million from its annual budget for paying loans for the SRP worth P6 billion. Of the amount, only P300 million represents payment of the city's debt with JBIC while the remaining P200 million is shared by the national government and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

The national government through the Department of Finance act as the guarantor of the city's loan while LBP is the city's depository bank.
__________________

Read more...

City Accepts Firm's Plan ( South Road Properties )

Sun.Star Cebu
Wednesday, March 19, 2008

AN official of the Cebu Investments and Promotions Center (CIPC) has announced that the Cebu City Government has accepted the proposal of the Filinvest Group to build a commercial complex in the South Road Properties (SRP).

“The Filinvest proposal has been accepted by the mayor (Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña). The task at hand is to work with COA (Commission on Audit) to make sure it (proposal) has met all the requirements so we can successfully bid it out to any challenger,” said Joel Mari Yu, CIPC managing director.

CIPC is the marketing arm of the SRP, a 290-hectare reclaimed property of the City Government that was funded by a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

In an interview with reporters last Monday, Yu said the proposal presented by the Filinvest Development Corp. (Filinvest), a company founded by Cebuano taipan Andrew Gotianun Sr., was to purchase close to 14 hectares at Pond F with the minimum floor price pegged at P15,000 per square meter.

Yu said Filinvest is planning to develop a commercial complex in the area, complete with hotels and shopping centers.

Additional area

“But unless COA will put the stamp of regularity, the City can’t bid this out,” he said.

He said Filinvest also plans to acquire an additional 35 hectares at SRP and enter into a joint venture with the City Government to establish a residential complex at SRP, targeting the retirees market.

Filinvest is one of the country’s major conglomerates, with interests in real estate development and leasing, financial and banking services, and sugar. The company is controlled by the Gotianun family through ALG Holdings Corporation.

Yu also said the City Government is now in the final stage of negotiations with two other major investors who are proposing to develop multi-million peso projects at the SRP.

Apart from Filinvest, those who had shown interest in the SRP include: SM Prime Holdings Inc., which plans to build another mall; Container Systems Corp., a Singaporean company that will need 20 hectares; Taiwanese firm Paul Yu Group of Companies; JY Construction; Arcenas Group; Paknaan Central Development Corp.; Mactan Rock Industries Corp.; King Group of Companies; and the University of Cebu.

Yu earlier said that CIPC has projected the sale of half of the titled reclaimed lots this year or at least 100 hectares, with one to three deals to be closed this June.

“If the three are approved this year, SRP will be fully occupied in less than five years, maybe even by 2011,” he said, adding that full development of SRP will bring in an additional 50,000 jobs.

Even if only one of the three proposals is closed this year, Yu said this would already be an “achievement” for Cebu City, especially in generating additional income not only from leased and purchased lots but also from commissions on all utility firms that will operate there. (MMM)

Read more...