By Leslie D. Venzon
MANILA, June 19 (PNA) — Tycoon Andrew Tan-led property developer Megaworld Corp. is aggressively expanding its leasing portfolio to grow its rental income to Php 9 billion this year, as it targets at least 10-percent jump in core profit.
Megaworld executive director Kingson Sian said the company’s rental portfolio is expected to reach close to one million square meters of gross floor area by the end of 2015, comprising the business process outsourcing (BPO) offices and retail spaces.
This year, Megaworld is opening seven new malls and commercial centers in its five township developments located in Global Bonifacio City, Cebu and Batangas.
It is set to complete two buildings in Bonifacio Global City and Cebu under the portfolio of Megaworld’s office spaces.
Megaworld is also opening two new hotels this year: Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, a 149-room business hotel in Iloilo Business Park; and the 480-room Belmont Luxury Hotel in Newport City.
“The Philippine economic growth for the last decade or so has also spilled over beyond Metro Manila. As a company, to continue to grow, we need to also grow with the economy in areas where there are high growths,” Sian said during the company’s stockholders’ meeting on Friday.
While Metro Manila remains the focus of development, he said that Megaworld will venture out into other high growth city centers such as Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod as well as other parts of Luzon.
With these developments, Sian expects rental income to reach Php10 billion by 2016.
“Looking back, we haven’t just achieved double-digit growth in our rental income in the last five years but have grown even more than two-fold, and this is a favorable indication of the company’s overall growth,” said Francis Canuto, chief finance officer at Megaworld. (PNA)