Ayala Group expanding international portfolio

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, will grow its international portfolio of energy, real estate, water and manufacturing businesses  in the next two years.

It expects earnings from the international business to account for 10 percent  of the group’s total income from the current seven percent.

In a press conference following the company’s annual stockholders meeting yesterday, Ayala Corp. chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said the move is in line with efforts to double the company’s net income to P50 billion by 2020.

“We are moving beyond our shores,” Zobel said, but stressed the company would continue to strengthen its presence in the Philippines.

He said the company’s businesses are already established business leaders that have an important presence in their respective industries.

“Across the Ayala Group, we have made significant progress in expanding our international presence, particularly across Southeast Asia where we have the ability to bring our expertise and capital to address opportunities,” Zobel said.

 For the global expansion, the conglomerate will expand in the area of electronics and automotive through AC Industrials,  water through Manila Water, power through AC Energy and property through Ayala Land.

 AC industrial acquired manufacturing facilities in Germany-based MT Technologies GmBH, a supplier of automotive models, tools, and plastic parts. It also has a stake in US-based Solar Technologies Inc.

Its electronics arm, Integrated Micro-Electronics, meanwhile, is the sixth largest electronics manufacturing services provider in the world.

AC Auto is a joint venture with KTM, the world’s largest Austrian-based motorcycle manufacturer. Since June 2017, some 1,800 units have been produced in IMI’s facility in Laguna including a number for export to Thailand and Vietnam.

Manila Water, meanwhile, has started its entry into the Indonesian market with a 20 percent stake in Indonesian bulk water supply company PT Sarana Tirta Ungaran.

 Similarly, AC Energy embarked on Southeast Asian acquisitions to become a major player in the region.  It currently holds a 20 percent interest in the 637 MW West Java geothermal assets which the company acquired from Chevron.

 AC  Energy is developing Indonesia’s first utility scale wind farm in Sidrap. It has also partnered with Vietnam’s BIM Group to develop over 300 MW of slower projects in Ninh Thuan province.

 Ayala Land, for its part, is expanding in Malaysia after acquiring a majority stake in Malaysian property company MCT Berhad.

“Moving forward, we remain optimistic about our growth trajectory as we adjust to monitor major global, domestic and industry trend that affect our businesses and open new opportunities,” Zobel said, noting that Ayala has poured in P898 billion in capital expenditures in the last six years.

Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president and COO of Ayala Corp., said the conglomerate’s growth has helped drive inclusive economic growth for the country by creating employment opportunities for over 139,000 people and remitting P239.4 billion in taxes to the national government.”