Empire East acquiring abandoned factory to build new township bigger than Eastwood City By: Krista Angela M. Montealegre, InterAksyon.com
June 10, 2014 11:31 AM
InterAksyon.com means BUSINESS
MANILA – Empire East Land Holdings Inc is finalizing the purchase of an abandoned factory in Pasig City to transform it into its biggest project to date.
On the sidelines of its stockholders meeting, Empire East president Anthony Charlemagne Yu said the company may seal a deal "this week or next week" to acquire a 23-hectare lot in Pasig City.
Named Empire East City, the project will have residential, office and a lifestyle mall that will be managed by its parent company, Yu said. It will be bigger than the 18.5-hectare Eastwood City, the pioneering mixed-use development of Megaworld Corp.
Empire East has a land bank of 454 hectares worth P4.09 billion. It is allocating a capital expenditure budget of P25 billion over the next five years to develop new and ongoing projects.
It will roll out new residential developments, namely Mango Tree Residences in San Juan and Covent Garden in San Juan City, this year.
The real estate developer is also preparing the master plan for the Broadway Centrum property, which may include residential projects and another lifestyle mall. Considered the home of GMA7's hit noontime show "Eat Bulaga," the property was acquired in 2012 and all lease contracts in the 1.7-hectare lot will expire this year, Yu said.
Empire East sees robust demand in the middle-income sector, with net income expanding by 10-20 percent this year from P300 million in 2013 on the back of a 15-30 percent growth in revenues, Yu said.
Reservation sales from the company's developments and managed projects are estimated to grow by a tenth to P22 billion this year from P20 billion in 2013, he added.
"We believe there's no oversupply and we have many more productive years ahead," Yu said.
Robust demand in the middle-income sector will be fuelled by remittances inflows, the business process outsourcing sector and the absence of massive government housing projects, which account for 80-85 percent of supply in other Asian markets, he added.
Empire East is delivering Tower One of Little Baguio Terraces and Pioneer Woodlands, The Enclave and The Country Club phases at The Sonoma and Garden Villa 1 of The Rochester. Turnover for the fourth tower of San Lorenzo Place will begin by the second half of 2014.
"We see our performance continuing on an upward trajectory. We are confident that with the sustained positive economic trend, we are well-positioned to achieve revenue growth and to capitalize on opportunities that will allow us to further serve our customers," Yu said.
After Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada's partnership with Century Properties Group Inc fell through, Empire East has yet to revive discussions with the developer of the $2-billion Manila Bay Resorts.
"We are not talking," Yu said.
In November 2013, Empire East pulled out of a planned joint venture with the Okada group for the development of integrated entertainment complex in state-run Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp's Entertainment City.
http://www.interaksyon.com/business/88767/empire-east-acquiring-abandoned-factory-to-build-new-township-bigger-than-eastwood-city