Filinvest readies REIT listing

MANILA, Philippines — Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) will do a real estate investment trust listing, joining other property giants in the newly developed REIT landscape in the country.

FLI’s board of directors yesterday approved the transition of the company’s wholly owned subsidiary Cyberzone Properties Inc. (CPI) into a REIT, to be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the REIT Act of 2009.

FLI president and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap said the company is looking forward to listing CPI as it would unlock the value of the Filinvest group’s office leasing business.

“Filinvest has a growing portfolio of recurring income projects and significant prime office properties in Alabang, Cebu and Clark to continue to grow this business. A REIT listing will enable acceleration of the growth of this business line,” Gotianun-Yap said.

Filinvest, one of the pioneer providers of office space to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines, has 43 operating and under construction office buildings covering over 824,000 square meters of gross leasable area.

Filinvest’s BPO buildings have continued to be fully operational during the COVID-19 pandemic and CPI’s office rental revenues increased 16 percent to P2.46 billion in January to September last year.

CPI’s property portfolio will comprise operating office buildings, including buildings leased out to traditional and multinational BPO companies. These are located in Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest City, Alabang and Filinvest Cyberzone Cebu in Cebu City.

Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest City is an 18.7 hectare PEZA-registered business park designed to cater primarily to BPO companies and which is currently home to the Philippines’ largest district cooling system.

The REIT Act allows REIT companies to list and trade its shares of stock in the stock market as an alternative means to raise funds for property development and expansion initiatives.

Companies that own and operate income-generating real estate assets are considered REIT companies. These companies include offices, apartment buildings, hotels, warehouses, shopping centers and highways.

With REITs, investors have access to dividend-based income, inflation protection, and a diversified portfolio.

Ayala Group’s AREIT is the first REIT company to be established and listed in the country. Double Dragon is also set to list its REIT.