Alphaland increases public float to 10.5%

High-end property developer Alphaland Corp. said Thursday it complied with the 10-percent minimum public float requirement of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Alphaland said in a disclosure to the stock exchange shareholder Alphaland Holdings (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. sold 49.6 million common shares at a price of P19 apiece to an undisclosed. The deal was worth P942.4 million.

The sale brought the public ownership of Alphaland to 10.53 percent, meeting the PSE requirement.
Alphaland, whose trading of shares is currently suspended, said the transaction was done outside the trading facility.

The company said it had also paid in full to the Bureau of Internal Revenue the necessary documentary stamp tax worth P186 million and the capital gains tax amounting to P44.94 million.

With the foregoing Alphaland wishes to assure the exchange and the investing public that it has exerted all efforts to comply with the MPO requirement,” Alphaland said.

Alphaland is one of the seven companies whose trading of shares was suspended at the start of the year because of their failure to meet the 10-percent minimum public ownership requirement.

Alphaland's public float was only 8.03 percent prior to the transaction.

Alphaland is a joint venture between British fund manager Ashmore Group and Ongpin group.

For latest information on the Philippine Real Estate Industry and the Real Estate Service Act (RA9646), please visit www.ra9646.com.ph.   

From eyesore to sustainable building

The preference and bias for everything sustainable is being felt all over the world and the Philippines is no exception.

And such demand has led developers to lean towards that direction of putting up “green” projects.
Upscale property developer Alphaland Corp., for one, is certainly among the front runners.

Its latest development, Alphaland Tower at 6789 Ayala Avenue, whose office units will be turned over next year, has transformed what used to be an eyesore into a precertified green building.

Alphaland Tower is a 34-story traditional office tower that will rise right in the heart of the Makati Central Business District.

“It is coming up in the last remaining properties on Ayala Avenue. Its actually an eyesore before but now we are hoping that it will become one of the more high-end, state-of-the-art office towers in the area once it opens by January 2013,” said Luis Miguel R. Villanueva, project director, Alphaland.

Designed by Hong Kong’s Wong & Ouyang and a number of Filipino architects, Alphaland Tower has a gross floor area of 48,000 square meters with a generous floor area allocation of 1,100-1,600 sq m for each level. A two-story glass ceiling will envelope its grand lobby.

Precertified gold rating
Registered with the United States Green Building Council’s Green Building Rating Dystem-LEED, Alphaland Tower recently earned a precertified Gold rating for Core and Shell construction. This covers sustainable design for building elements, which involve the structure, building envelope and the HVAC system.

“As a new developer we wanted to be unique and to get out of the traditional way of building. We wanted to be more of a sustainable type of developer who will not just build the way the others do. We want to make an impact, so we looked into the USGBC’s green building standards and we thought it was a good fit,” he disclosed.

And while the whole tower is equipped with environmentally sustainable technologies which will allow future tenants to drive down operating costs, Alphaland is continuously employing methods and technologies to further meet the five categories set by the council that would allow them to acquire the Gold LEED certification.

Such features include the unique curtain wall system to reduce solar heat gain inside the building, effectively lowering energy consumption for air conditioning, and the advanced air filter technology to improve air quality and occupant well-being and productivity inside the tower.

5 categories
“We are continuously working on the five categories that would allow future tenants to drive down operating costs and achieve total wellness and well-being,” Villanueva noted.

Meanwhile, another LEED feature of the building, according to Villanueva is the use of low flow plumbing fixtures that would allow future tenants at least 20 percent of savings based on normal consumption.
“Also during construction we monitor and make sure that we don’t pollute the environment, so whether it’s protecting the drainage system during construction or controlling dust from spreading outside the construction area, we made sure those are being handled well,” he said.

Moreover, Alphaland ensures that only environment-friendly and nontoxic materials will be used for the interior finishes.

There will be designated parking spaces and bus stop to encourage car pooling. Also another advantage is its close proximity to covered walkways and Ayala MRT.

“At Alphaland Tower, reducing your carbon footprint goes hand in hand with reducing your operating expenses. The energy-efficient systems will help tenants make the most of the money spent on utilities while letting them work in utmost comfort,” Villanueva claimed.

The whole tower will likewise be powered with high-grade fiber optic cabling. Next-generation broadband infrastructure ensures adaptability to future innovations, and is expected to lure both ICT and non-ICT companies that rely heavily on modern telco infrastructure for their operations.

According to Villanueva, the ground and second levels of Alphaland Tower will be offered as prime commercial space while a three-story penthouse will be available for single lease. The Penthouse meanwhile will have its own rooftop gardens and lounge areas, making it the most desirable office space in the country.
“We also know that the multinational market are looking at sustainable buildings as part of their standards and we will make sure will meet their needs and be at par with the world market,” he concluded.

Ongpin firm invests P1.5B in urban recreation hub

Alphaland Corp., an upscale property developer led by former Trade Minister Roberto V. Ongpin, has debuted in the urban recreation hub business with a P1.5-billion investment in The City Club, which will rise in the Makati central business district by end-2012.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Alphaland president Mario Oreta said the new urban club—to be located at the former Zuellig building along Ayala Avenue Extension—was designed to offer even more amenities than the plush Manila Polo Club except for the horse facilities. He said the club has started offering shares at prices that were escalating each month since the pre-selling began in January.

The strong reception for the club’s shares indicated brisk demand for respite in an urban jungle especially among the young upwardly mobile professionals working in Makati. Ongpin’s group sees the timing of its entry into this business as “appropriate” as no new facilities of such kind had been built in the metropolis since the completion of the Rockwell Club in 1999 and the Tower Club in 2000.

“A niche market’s varied and expanded interests have gone unmet for over a decade,” Alphaland said in its announcement that construction of The City Club was in full swing.

Oreta said selling was on an “invitational” basis and the number of shares being sold each month were being deliberately curtailed to allow The City Club to keep sufficient inventory of its own stock, which can be sold for a maximum price of P2 million once the club is completed.

The Alphaland chief said The City Club would likely have sold 2,000 of the 4,500 shares that it is authorized to sell by the time the urban leisure club is fully operational by Christmas of next year.

When the club started pre-selling shares in January, the shares were sold for an introductory price of P500,000 each. Every month, the selling price is increasing by P100,000. “We control the number of share. For instance, this April we will sell only 50 shares for P700,000, because people are clamoring for it and we don’t want to sell all our shares,” Oreta said.

The City Club has sold 100 shares each for January, February and March. In the succeeding months, only 50 shares will be made available.

The City Club is designed to offer up to 51 different types of amenities in a two-hectare space, which is double its actual land area. It will have seven themed restaurants in addition to a dessert cafe and an open barbecue area, a daycare center and sports amenities for children. It will also have fitness amenities such as swimming, badminton, tennis, running, boxing, Pilates and indoor golf facilities as well as business facilities including meeting rooms, conference rooms, an Internet cafe and a library.

“If you compare it with Manila Polo Club, we have more amenities except the horses and Polo Club is selling at P7.2 million [per share] so it’s really a fantastic deal. It’s a steal,” Oreta said.

Ongpin’s group, which once established Tagaytay Highlands, will likewise employ this escalating price scheme when it starts selling preferred shares in another plush club that will own and operate the 424-hectare exclusive tropical island-resort rising on Balesin Island, Quezon.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved the registration of securities to be offered by Alphaland Balesin Island Club Inc. (ABICI) consisting of 391 primary preferred shares and 3,519 secondary shares at a maximum price of P2 million a share. ABICI is a subsidiary of Alphaland Balesin Island Resort Corp., which is in turn wholly owned by Alphaland.

Shares in Balesin will be sold for a maximum price of P2 million each when the club is fully operational but the club will start pre-selling the shares at more affordable prices. Oreta said pre-selling would likely start at P1 million a share.

Lastly, FYI for related information on the new real estate law, RA 9646, please proceed to www.RA9646.com, the online repository of updated information on Real Estate Service Act of 2009 (RESA).

source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 03 2011