ALI eyes more joint ventures

MANILA, Philippines - Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), which has created numerous masterplanned projects by partnering with landed families, is on the lookout for new joint venture deals.

Such tie-ups with landowners will allow the firm to fasttrack its expansion program on the back of a growing economy, company officials said.

In a statement, the country’s largest full-line property developer said it “continues to look for partnership opportunities across the country to accelerate its expansion amidst the continuing robust growth of the Philippine economy that is fueling demand for real estate products.”

Forging partnerships and joint venture deals allows the real estate firm to accelerate its expansion while preserving its capital resources and minimizing development risk, said ALI chief operating officer Bernard Vincent Dy.

“With partnerships, we are able to optimize the use of capital and at the same time reduce risk, allowing us to expand in a quicker way while minimizing the strain on our balance sheet,” ALI chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael added.

Ysmael said partnership deals have always been a preferred mode of expansion as the company can rapidly grow its footprint using as little capital as possible.

In its 25-year history, ALI has created numerous projects through tie-ups, including its partnership with the Madrigals for the development of Ayala Alabang; the Yulo family for Nuvali in Laguna; the Florendos for Abreeza in Davao; and the Campos group and state-run Bases Conversion Development Authority for Bonifacio Global City.

Recent joint ventures include the deals with the Cua family for Circuit Makati; the Lacson family for Ayala North Point in Negros Occidental; and the Pison group for the Atria project in Iloilo City.

More partnership agreements are currently under negotiations as the property arm of the Ayala conglomerate does not lack partnership offers, Dy said.

“They know that if they partner with ALI, they are assured that we will live up to our commitments to our partners and our customers,” Dy said, adding that ALI has become a preferred partner of families with significant landholdings.

Aside from land development projects, ALI has also partnered with the Tantoco family’s SSI Group for its department store venture and the creation of Family Mart convenience stores. It also signed a deal with retail giant Puregold Price Club Inc. for the establishment of supermarkets.

For hospitals, ALI acquired a minority stake in Mercado General Hospital Inc. of the Mercado family.

“More partnerships will soon come out of the pipeline as ALI expects demand for real estate products to continue growing on the back of the rapid growth of the Philippine economy,” Dy said.

In the first half, ALI’s profits surged 30 percent to P5.62 billion from P4.33 billion last year on the strong performance of its property development, commercial leasing and construction businesses.