Firm draws up plans for former US military base
Megaworld Corp. has bagged a P7-billion deal with the state-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC) to develop up to 550 hectares of the former US military property into a mixed-use complex.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the property firm of tycoon Andrew Tan announced that it had signed a memorandum of agreement with CDC to develop portions of the Clark Freeport Zone and the Clark Special Economic Zone.
The proposed development will feature office, commercial, retail, leisure and entertainment, residential, and health and wellness components that will cater to foreign and local business process outsourcing locators, retirement communities and tourism enterprises, the disclosure said.
The P7-billion estimate refers to the development cost of the project, which is expected to expand Megaworld’s asset portfolio as it establishes a presence outside its Metro Manila bailiwick.
The property company did not provide additional details on the property deal, which is widely expected to be a joint venture with CDC, similar to the development of Fort Bonifacio Global City.
A former US Air Force base, Clark today offers modern infrastructure facilities, generous fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, professional support services, amenities and other perks to industrial and other business locators.
The government plans to turn the 4,400-hectare main zone and 27,600-hectare subzone into an airport-driven urban center for high-end IT-enabled industries, aviation and logistics related enterprises, tourism and other sectors.
In the first nine months, Megaworld posted a net income attributable to parent equity holders of P6.65 billion—up by around 63 percent from that of last year.
Consolidated revenues composed of real estate sales, rental income, hotel income and other revenues, surged by 45.74 percent year on year to P22.96 billion.
This performance was attributed by Megaworld to strong property sales and increased leasing income and nonrecurring gain from sale of shares during the second quarter of 2011.
Megaworld’s total resources as of end-September amounted to P127.41 billion—31.3 percent higher than last year’s level.
The share price of Megaworld rose by 1.7 percent ON Tuesday to close at P1.80 a share, giving it a market capitalization of P45.4 billion.
The property firm has a 1.2 percent weight in the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index.
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By: Doris C. Dumlao
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov. 29, 2011
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