Andrew Tan firm offers P14 B for FTI

MANILA, Philippines - Empire East Land Holdings Inc., the middle- income housing company of real estate tycoon Andrew Tan, has offered to acquire the 103-hectare Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in Taguig for P14 billion.

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Empire East said it has submitted its offer to the Department of Finance, which oversees the privatization of state-owned companies.

Empire East said the offer was made in line with recent reports that the current administration will prioritize the privatization of the FTI property.

“Given its trust and confidence in the administration of President Aquino, Empire East wishes to participate in the planned privatization together with potential partners who are keen on investing in this country on the strength of the new administration’s commitment to transparency,” the company said.

Empire East joins Gokongwei-owned property firm Robinsons Land in expressing interest to acquire the FTI property, which was originally built to be a food processing and consolidation center for agricultural products.

The entire FTI complex is situated on a total area of but 120 hectare property, the government is selling 103 hectares because the remaining 17 hectares are owned by the National Food Authority (NFA).

The property was bid out middle of last year but hit a snag as no takers showed up. The government originally set an indicative price of P9 billion for the property.

Robinsons Land, Ayala Land and SM Development Corp were among those that submitted bids when the Arroyo administration put the property on the auction block as part of efforts to raise funds to pare down the national budget deficit, which stood at P300 billion during that time.

The Finance Department is now looking at a minimum bid of P13 billion for the property, , higher than the P7 billion to P9 billion previously set by the Arroyo administration.

Empire East has earmarked P10 billion to P12 billion for its capital expenditures over a five-year period from 2010. Among its other projects include The Sonoma in Sta Rosa, Laguna, The Rochester in Pasig and Central Park at Cambridge Village, also in the Pasig-Cainta area.

The Sonoma is a 50-hectare Asian-inspired community offering 1,148 prime lots, while The Rochester is an 11-tower development that will showcase tropical-style living. Central Park is an eight-hectare project with 14 residential clusters and a self-enclosed park.

Megaworld, the flagship upscale property unit of Tan’s Alliance Global Inc., is most known for its live-work-play township projects which integrate residential, commercial and leisure developments.   It has six township projects in different stages of development — namely Eastwood City, Forbes Town Center, McKinley Hills, Newport City, Manhattan Garden City and Cityplace.