Israeli investment fund to infuse P2.5B in Filinvest township project

Africa-Israel Investments (Philippines) Inc. (AIIPI) plans to invest up to P2.48 billion over the next five years in Filinvest Land Inc.’s 613-hectare Timberland Heights masterplanned township in San Mateo, Rizal.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FLI said it signed yesterday an agreement with AIIPI for the joint development of various residential and leisure projects in a 58.2-hectare portion in Timberland Heights. AIIPI will be a 40-percent partner in the development.

Under the agreement, AIIPI will initially invest P380 million, with the option to infuse an additional P2.1 billion over the next five years. AIIPI is the Philippine subsidiary of Africa-Israel Investments Ltd., an Israeli publicly- listed company with assets of $3.5 billion.

The first phase of the joint venture will involve the development of several projects including The Ranch, an upper income development offering luxury house and lot packages, and Mandala East, offering leisure farm estate lots.

The joint venture will also develop the anchor of the township — the Timberland Sports and Nature Club. Following the footsteps of the highly successful Palms Country Club in Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, the 12,500-square meter Timberland Sports and Nature Club will be a family-oriented exclusive membership club with a full range of sports, nature-oriented amenities, spa, dining, banquet and room facilities with world-class standard club management.

AIIPI and FLI also agreed to consider pursuing together the development of two medium-rise residential building projects in two different sites in Metro Manila.

Just 15 minutes from Quezon City, Timberland Heights is a premier masterplanned mountain resort township easily accessible to the country’s top universities, major shopping malls and major medical facilities.

FLI has set aside P1.4 billion this year for the development of 12 projects, out of which three are affordable housing projects valued at between P1 million and P1.5 million per unit. Two projects will rise in Sto. Tomas, Batangas one will be located in Calamba, Laguna.

It also plans to launch two middle-income housing and two high-end housing projects, all within Metro Manila. The housing units catering to the high-end-market are priced at P2.5 million to P3 million.

Another three middle-income housing projects will be launched in Cebu and Davao to extend their presence out of Metro Manila.

FLI is also constructing two Asenso Village projects, one in Calamba, Laguna and the other in Tanza, Cavite. Development cost for both projects is estimated at between P100 million and P120 million with a total of 951 lots to be sold.

Asenso Village is designed as a business park devoted to the development of start-up and expanding SMEs.

FLI, the property unit of the Gotianun-owned holding firm Filinvest Development Corp., is eyeing a 20-percent growth in sales this year given the strong performance of its housing and industrial estates businesses in the first half.

Sales for the six months to June this year reached P2.12 billion or an increase of 22 percent from only P1.74 billion the previous year-period.

FLI is one of the largest real estate developers in the country with an asset base of P28 billion and an equity of P18 billion as of end-December 2005.

The Filinvest Group has been in residential and commercial development for over 50 years and has developed close to 1,800 hectares of land into homes for over 100,000 families, as well as over 400,000 square meters of office/commercial/high-rise residential space.