Robinsons Land sets P30-B capex plan

MANILA, Philippines - Robinsons Land Corp (RLC), the real estate development arm of taipan John Gokongwei’s listed flagship firm JG Summit Holdings Inc., has set a P30-billion capital expenditure program over the next two years to build up its landbank and scale up its mall, residential, hotel and office building operations.

At the company’s special shareholders meeting Wednesday, RLC president and chief operating officer Frederick Go said the company is allotting P11 billion over a two-year period to shore up property for future growth.

RLC is one of the several companies that expressed interest to acquire the 103-hectare Food Terminal Inc. complex in Taguig City from the government.

Go said the company is also keen on purchasing properties across Metro Manila to ensure long-term profitability.

He said funding for RLC’s aggressive expansion program will partly come from a proposed rights offering which will generate as much as P13.5 billion.

The company will be issuing up to 1.36 billion common shares at P10 apiece. Shareholders can buy one share for every two shares held as of a record date yet to fixed by RLC. 

The offering, which will be managed by ATR Kim Eng Capital, is tentatively scheduled on April 11-15.

RLC said the shares to be issued will come from a planned capital hike from P3 billion to P8.2 billion, of which 25 percent or P1.3 billion will be subscribed and at least 325 million will be paid by way of the stock rights offering.

Among the new malls slated for construction this year are in Pangasinan, Palawan, New Manila and Cebu.

RLC plans to put up a total of 30 Gohotels in and outside Metro Manila over a five-year period.

Programmed for opening this year are in Bacolod and Dumaguete. The next sites will rise in Palawan, Iloilo, Cebu, and Tacloban for 2012 and Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Zamboanga, Batanes, and Gensan in 2013.

Go said plans are also underway to build two new office buildings in the Ortigas Central Business District.

He said the company is also studying the possibility of expanding overseas with China as a possible site for expansion.