Sta Lucia binges on property purchases

MANILA, Philippines – Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (SLI) has acquired 53 properties in different parts of the country to ensure continued expansion.

Its board of directors recently approved the acquisition of properties in Pasig City, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Tagaytay and General Santos City totaling 968,962.47 square meters.

Apart from this, SLI has 11 joint venture partner agreements in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Iloilo and Cebu covering 94.7 hectares.

The company said it utilized the proceeds from its recent P4 billion bond offering to acquire strategic landbank and to continue its joint venture business model.

To further boost sales, SLI set up sales offices in Australia, France and Illionois.

China Banking Corp. was issue manager, bookrunner and lead underwriter.

SLI’s bonds were assigned a rating of AA+ by Credit Rating and Investor Services Philippines Inc. (Crisp).

The company is part of the Sta. Lucia Realty Group which has created a footprint in 10 major regions and cities in the country. It has developed over 10,000 hectares of land and more than 220 residential subdivisions as well as 14 golf courses.

According to Crisp, SLI has operated mostly from internally generated funds and has only tapped banks for its direct borrowings for just over P3 billion as the firm’s low debt provides a broader flexibility in financing its future expansion programs by tapping the capital market nd further equity infusion.

Crisp also earlier assigned a stable outlook on Sta. Lucia as it is expected to maintain its sales and revenue trajectory in a competitive but stable property development market.