A most expensive garden

Allied Banking Corp. chairman Panfilo Domingo is Lucio Tan’s point man to negotiate for the purchase of prime properties stretching from Francisco Dalupan Sr. St. (formerly called Gastambide) to Legarda adjacent to the University of the East campus in Manila.

You see, Mr. Tan wants to convert this area into a park, with lots of trees and flowers. The idea here is to provide UE students with a more conducive study environment.

Needless to say, P.O. Domingo is not exactly thrilled with the idea of a multi-million peso non-revenue generating garden.

* * *

Not many people know that Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. chairman George S.K. Ty is now in the mall business too.

His corporate vehicle is Federal Land Corp., which owns that huge property in Manila’s Bay Area (near Baclaran) that is host to sister companies such as Manila Doctors Hospital (which has put up a nursing school) and a huge showroom of Toyota Motor Phils., Inc.

Called Blue Wave, the mall has been drawing in not just the office crowd during the working hours but families as well during the weekends.

As everybody knows, Mr. Ty’s son, Alfred Ty, has become more actively involved in Metrobank Group’s non-bank businesses such as Federal Land and TMPI.

The younger Mr. Ty is married to Cherry Tan, one of the daughters of Lucio Tan.

* * *

Well, it looks like Philippine National Bank president Lorenzo Tan has scrapped the idea of moving the bank’s corporate banking sector headed by first senior vice-president Michael de Jesus to the Makati financial district.

The initial idea was to use the Lepanto-Bank of America Bldg. along Paseo de Roxas Ave., where PNB owns 11 floors. The problem is there’s an ongoing legal disagreement between BoA, which owns four floors (including the ground floor), and Lepanto Group, which is headed by Felipe Yap.

PNB also owns some floors of Petron Plaza along Gil Puyat Ave. (formerly Buendia). Unfortunately, the building isn’t exactly consumer-friendly, in large part as a defense against would-be demonstrators of higher oil prices.

Right now, PNB is said to have the second biggest land bank in the country, next only to Ayala Land, Inc. PNB’s inventory, including foreclosed properties, is estimated at P30 billion.

The crown jewel is, of course, the bank’s 10-hectare property in the Reclamation Area that stretches from Roxas Blvd. – yes, the properties where the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions and the World Trade Center are located are PNB’s – to its head office.

In comparison, the entire Rockwell property developed by the Lopez-controlled Rockwell Land Corp. is only five hectares bigger.