IPO-bound Pro-Friends eyes completion of 8 projs

MANILA, Philippines - Pro-Friends Group Inc. is looking to complete eight property projects over the next 10 years in hopes of slicing a portion of the expected six million nationwide housing backlog by 2030 through its affordable housing projects.

Guillermo Choa, Pro-Friends chief executive officer, said the affordable housing developer currently has nine projects in the pipeline, eight of which are targeted to be finished before 2024.

Choa said three subdivision projects in Cavite are due for completion by next year, while another subdivision development in Pampanga is expected to be completed by 2016.

The company is also undertaking larger developments of at least 70 hectares in Cavite as well as in Iloilo.

Pro-Friends to date has a total of 1,832.15 hectares of landbank which it intends to develop in the coming years.

Its biggest project, Lancaster Estates, is a 1,435.22-hectare development in Gen. Trias, Cavite, set for completion by 2034.

Choa said the firm, which has sold over 36,000 houses since its establishment in 1999, currently sells and completes some 600 to 700 houses a month.

 “Our group is more committed than ever to providing long-term value for our customers through strategic and holistic investments in providing their needs,” he said.

Roberto T. Dispo, First Metro Investments Corp. president, said Pro-Friends is well positioned to address the country’s housing backlog with unit offerings ranging from P800,000 to P3 million.

 “We need to help Filipinos in that segment acquire their own housing unit,” Dispo said.

Citing studies in the country’s property sector, Dispo said the country’s current backlog of 2.5 million units is expected to grow by over six million by 2030 with the present supply of only about 200,000 to 250,000 units a year.

First Metro and BDO Capital and Investments Corp. were tapped as the joint underwriters for the Pro-Friend’s planned initial public offering (IPO) by next month.

The property firm is expecting to raise as much as P7.7 billion in fresh funds from the IPO, with proceed to be used for development and construction, land banking, and general corporate purposes.