By Leslie D. Venzon
DAVAO CITY, July 5 (PNA) — Listed mass housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. is investing PhP4.3 billion to develop a 100-hectare property into its fifth residential project here, in its bid to help the country address the housing backlog in the next few years.
8990 Holdings president and chief executive officer Januario Jesus Atencio announced the new housing project located in Puan, south of the city, after the company’s investors’ roadshow to drum up support for its PhP9-billion bond issue.
“Davao has a continuing strong market for housing. Davao is a major regional center in Mindanao. What is the vision of 8990 Holdings is for our brand Deca Homes to be present in all the regions,” he said in an interview.
Atencio said its residential project is expected to deliver around 6,500 units worth PhP6.5 billion.
He said they target to start construction of the five-year project in 2017.
8990 Holdings has housing projects located in barangays Indangan, Mintal, Esperanza and Cabantian here.
Atencio said the company has also acquired another three properties in Zamboanga, Bacolod and Marilao, Bulacan with cumulative area of 102 hectares which will be developed into new residential projects.
He said it will use internally generated funds to complete the projects.
8990 Holdings already launched seven of the nine projects pipelined for this year situated in Muntinlupa City, Cavite, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao. These would deliver 4,486 housing units with value of PhP4 billion this year.
He added the company will launch the remaining two projects located in Cebu and another one here by the third quarter of 2015. Its Cebu project will deliver 1,000 housing units while the Davao project will provide 800 units.
In addition to the new projects, the 10 ongoing projects will provide a total of 19 projects equivalent to 11,083 housing units with an estimated value of PhP10 billion this year.
Atencio expressed hope that the company’s housing projects will help address the housing backlog in the country.
“If the housing backlog is growing at five percent, that’s 250,000 units. We are supplying 11,000 (units), so we are like 20 percent solving the housing backlog. That’s really so many unserved demand… So they (big companies) should come, and they should help us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Atencio said the company’s corporate bond offering was oversubscribed.
“I see the market accepting the bonds very well. On the level of the institutional buyers, it is already all taken up,” he said.
The developer intends to use the proceeds from the issuance to refinance its existing debt obligations as well as that of its subsidiaries. (PNA)