Belle sets aside P2B for new Tagaytay Highlands projects

Property and leisure firm Belle Corp. is setting aside P2 billion for the development of more residential projects within Tagaytay Highlands, according to a company official.

Belle chief finance officer Manuel Gana said the company is also allocating P300 million to P400 million for the development of a nine-hole golf course in addition to its existing 18 holes.

Gana said the company expects its net income to reach P700 million this year, mainly driven by extraordinary gains from the sale of a property.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2006, Belle’s net profit fell to P117.2 million from P445.1 million a year earlier, mainly due to weak sales, higher expenses and depreciation charges and lower interest income. Revenues decreased 31 percent to P403.4 million owing to lower sales of real estate and club shares as well as a decrease in commission income.

Belle is the leading developer of high-end leisure properties and one of the largest private sector participants in the fast-growing gaming industry in the Philippines.

The company continues to lag other property developers given the high-end nature of its products. To augment its revenue stream, Belle is pursuing its racetrack project through 70 percent owned MMTC, given the potential of the horseracing industry. MMTC entered into an agreement with Equitrak Management Corp. to operationalize its legislative franchise to conduct horseracing operations.

Belle earlier said it was allocating P6 billion in the next three to five years for the construction of a golf course, residential subdivision and a mixed-use building.

The two new projects dubbed Midlands South and Rancho Montana, will rise on a 500-hectare property located in Batangas.

These projects are in line with Belle’s bid to accelerate development of its properties to take advantage of the boom in the property sector.

Among its subsidiaries or affiliates are Highlands Prime Inc and Pacific Online Systems Corp.

Highlands is also engaged in real estate development within the Tagaytay Highlands and Midlands complexes while Pacific Online leases on-line equipment to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office for their lottery operations in the Visayas and Mindanao.