"We welcome this development as good news and a step forward in realizing the monorail project that would serve millions of commuters in Metro Manila," the press release quoted Mr. Casanova as saying.

He added "the BCDA monorail will provide a fast, efficient and safe public transport service that will connect Bonifacio Global City and other premier mix-use districts and NAIA 3 from the existing MRT, thereby providing commuters fast and easy access to these new and future premier mix-use districts being developed by BCDA."

The agency will conduct the pre-feasibility study with two Japanese firms Oriental Consultants Co., Ltd. and the Nomura Group.

Should it proceed, the project is expected to be completed by 2016.

BCDA is the agency in charge of developing former military camps and bases in the country into productive areas.

It announced last July 17 that it will be auctioning off contracts to develop areas in Taguig and Pasay cities, namely:

• the 5,005.13 square meter old Nichols Driving Range and the 5,389.00 sq.m. Nichols Loop in Pasay City on Aug. 22;

• the 3,099 sq. m. Eastgate Parking Facility along 14th Drive, Bonifacio Global City on Aug. 23; and

• 1,244 sq.m. Sampaguita East Ramp Lot along C-5 Road, Taguig City on Aug. 24.

The Eastgate property, which has a minimum bid price of P122.41 million, is located near Bonifacio Global City’s Manila Electric Co. substation and is envisioned to be a parking facility with retail spaces.

The Sampaguita property, which comes with a minimum price of P28.76 million, lies across Market! Market! mall and is envisioned to be a mixed-use complex.

The Nichols properties have a joint floor price tag of P89.59 million and are located near the Sales Interchange and Villamor Air Base. -- E. N. J. David


http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=Japan-grant-to-fund-airport-monorail-study&id=56796

MEGAWORLD Corp. has launched one of its most expensive addresses in the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) to date named the Uptown Ritz, which is expected to rake in P4.5 billion in revenues for the listed property developer.

Maricor M. Manlangit, Megaworld first vice president for strategic planning, said construction of the 45-story condominium is expected to begin before the end of the year, while

completion is targeted in June 2017.

The Uptown Ritz, Manlangit said, is the second project that Megaworld has launched in its 15-hectare Uptown Bonifacio integrated development.

“The average price of the units is P135,000 per square meter. The unit sizes range from 78 square meters to 182 square meters, which means the lowest priced unit will be about P11 million,” Manlangit said.

Harold Geronimo, Megaworld marketing director, said the Uptown Ritz is one of the most luxurious projects of the company in the area. “BGC is already known for high-end developments but with Uptown Ritz, we are raising it a notch higher. We are promoting luxurious lifestyle in Uptown Bonifacio.”

Uptown Bonifacio is Megaworld’s third township development in the former military base after McKinley Hills and Forbes Town.

Megaworld is allotting P45 billion for all the projects in Uptown Bonifacio. It will have residential, retail and office components.

Uptown Bonifacio, Geronimo said, will also house the future headquarters of Megaworld. The first project that was launched in the area is the two-tower Uptown Residences.

http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/30555-megaworld-sees-45-b-earnings-from-new-condominium-project

The five-story One World Center in Newtown, which is already completed, is fully equipped to meet the requirements of BPO offices. Four upper floors are for office spaces.

Another BPO-ready building, Two World Center, is now being constructed.

“Megaworld sees the growth opportunities of the BPO industry in Cebu. With this, we expect new BPO companies coming in as we offer the most modern BPO offices in this side of the country,” says Jericho Go, Megaworld’s first vice president for business development and leasing division.

http://business.inquirer.net/72731/megaworld-cebu-project-declared-special-ecozone

The 45-story One Uptown Residence is the first luxury condominium to rise in the Global City’s new business district, Uptown Bonifacio.

From your luxury 1-bedroom, executive 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom suite at One Uptown Residence, you can take the escalators at the basement to reach modern offices within the township’s offices catering to business process outsourcing (BPO) firms. A promising executive appointment or enterprising opportunity is yours for the taking in this new business district.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=829215&publicationSubCategoryId=76

Empire East Land Holdings Inc., the listed middle-income residential builder of taipan Andrew Tan, is diversifying into upscale developments after being tapped by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada to build luxury condominiums in a $2-billion casino development in the Entertainment City complex in Manila Bay.

Empire East, a subsidiary of Megaworld Corp., said in a regulatory filing that it had signed a joint-venture agreement with Okada’s Tiger Resort and Leisure Entertainment Inc. and Eagle 1 Landholdings Inc. to take a majority stake in the partnership.  

Empire East President Charlemagne Yu said in a text message that the total development cost is estimated at P45 billion, of which an initial P10 billion has been committed.

The builder’s shares jumped 11.25 percent to P0.89 each on Monday’s close, after gaining as much as 12.5 percent earlier in the session, on heavy trading volume.

Empire East is planning more than 25 residential towers over 13 hectares within the 120-hectare Entertainment City, which has come to symbolize the Philippines’s efforts at  becoming a major gaming hub in a region led by Macau and Singapore.

It is moving to tap new opportunities even as its core business faces stiff competition from SM Development Corp., Ayala Land Inc. and other aggressive players.

“Empire East will compete with all the developers in the market, including Megaworld,” Yu said. “This is healthier rather than limiting Empire East to one segment of the market. [We] want to have a piece of the high-end market, as well.”

Tan’s decision to use Empire East as his joint-venture vehicle instead of Megaworld, which owns a stake in casino operator Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., also helps remove any perceived conflict-of-interest issues between Tan and Okada, market watchers said.

Travellers, a 50-50 joint venture between Tan’s group and Malaysia’s Genting Group, operates the existing Resorts World Manila integrated casino and will open Resorts World Bayshore in Entertainment City by 2016.

Empire East is the first Philippine firm to be tapped by Okada, who remains the sole foreign licensee in Entertainment City. Okada is also in talks with the Gokongwei Group’s Robinsons Land Corp. for a potential tie-up but a definitive agreement has not been signed, a filing last week showed.

Yu said Empire East would raise funds from the sale of equity and debt, without elaborating. Empire East earlier announced a P2.6-billion rights offering, which is scheduled for completion this quarter.  “We have very low gearing and can easily gear up some more,” he added.

The builder recently approved to increase its authorized capital stock from P23.4 billion to P33.4 billion, which is expected to be completed within the end of the year.  The two other licensees in Entertainment City  are Belle Corp. of Henry Sy and Bloomberry Resorts Corp. led by Enrique Razon Jr.

Philippine gaming revenues hit $1.3 billion last year but could grow to $3 billion by 2015, CLSA said in a study.

http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/30027-tans-empire-to-build-p45-b-fun-hub

MANILA, Philippines - Tycoons John Gokongwei and Andrew Tan have forged an agreement with Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada for a $2-billion project that will integrate gaming, commercial and residential operations at the Pagcor Entertainment City along Roxas Blvd.

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. told The STAR that Tan’s group will handle the land development aspect of Okada’s Tiger Resorts project, one of four groups granted a license by Pagcor to operate a casino in the Entertainment City.

Okada’s project is worth $2 billion, and Gokongwei and Tan’s entry will translate to the two local groups owning 60 percent of the venture, and Okada, 40 percent. The project will have a casino as well as a residential and retail component.

Naguiat said the Tiger Resorts project, covering 40 hectares of the 100-hectare Entertainment City, will start operations at the end of 2014.

It was earlier reported that Gokongwei’s property arm, Robinson Land Corp., has offered to run the gaming and retail operations of the Tiger Resorts project, the biggest among the four licensees, in Entertainment City.

The other licensees include Bloomberry of port operator Enrique Razon, Belle Corp. together with Melco, and Resorts World, also owned by Tan.

Earlier reports revealed that the Gokongwei Group beat several local businesses, notably the Lopez Group, that vied to be a partner of Okada. The Lopezes own media giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. and property developer Rockwell Land.

Okada, also known as the pachinko king of Japan, broke ground on his casino in Entertainment City on Jan. 26, promising more than 2,000 guest rooms in three hotels.

On his visit to Manila in May, Okada predicted that the center of gravity of the global gaming industry would shift from Las Vegas to Asia, with the Philippines playing a significant part in attracting patrons from around the world.

“My dream is to create the best casino in the world here in the Philippines,” he said. “This is why I’m focusing on Philippine gaming – to make it the best in the world and to beat Wynn Resorts,” he said.

Tan, through his listed investment holding firm Alliance Global Group Inc., is also involved in another Entertainment City project, the $1.1-billion, 31-hectare Resorts World Bayshore project of Travellers International Hotel Group, his partnership with Genting Hong Kong Ltd.

Travellers International runs the wildly successful Resorts World, beside Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.

Gokongwei’s foray into casinos is the latest in a string of billion-dollar transactions involving investors in Entertainment City.

In May, ports mogul Enrique Razon Jr. raised P8.85 billion from the stock market to bankroll the 16-hectare Solaire Manila luxury casino and hotel-resort project of his gaming firm, Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc.

Solaire Manila is expected to be the first to open among the projects of the four licensees, with start of operations expected by the first quarter of 2013.

A few weeks ago, a consortium led by retail king Henry Sy took in Macau casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment – owned by Australian billionaire James Packer and Lawrence Ho, son of Macau gaming tycoon Stanley Ho – as a partner in its $1-billion, 8-hectare project.

The Belle-Melco project is scheduled to start end of 2013, according to Naguiat.

Pagcor has required all licensees to put in a minimum $1-billion investment in each integrated resort (to be spent before the term of President Aquino ends in 2016), build a minimum of 250,000 square meters of floor area and complete 800 hotel rooms with an average room area, of 40 square meters.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/07/15/12/okada-forges-2-b-casino-jv-gokongwei-andrew-tan

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) - Boracay has been named as this year's world's best island getaway by an international travel magazine.

Discovery Shores in Boracay was also named best hotel spa in Asia by "Travel + Leisure" magazine's 2012 World's Best Awards.

The magazine's editor, Nilou Motamed, made the announcement Friday on the "Today" daily American morning television show that airs on NBC.

Boracay, which placed 4th in the same awards last year, garnered 93.10 points to take the top spot this year.

Travel + Leisure's top 10 island destinations in 2012, based on a survey of readers are:

1. Boracay, Philippines - 93.10
2. Bali - 90.41
3. Galápagos - 89.55
4. Maui - 89.53
5. Great Barrier Reef Islands, Australia  - 89.28
6. Santorini, Greece - 89.20
7. Kauai - 89.09
8. Big Island, Hawaii  - 87.95
9. Sicily, Italy - 87.87
10. Vancouver Island, British Columbia - 87.48

"The world's best island, I confess to never having heard of it in the Philippines," "Today" host Willie Geist said.

"This is important, Boracay. It beat out Bali, number 2. It's one of those islands you should know about if you're interested in culture and value," Motamed told Geist.

"Our readers love this, it's not been on anyone's radar. It's in the Philippines. This is the place that you're gonna get not only hotels that you can stay for $50 a night but incredible hotels like the Shangri-la," she added.

Boracay's Discovery Shores also secured top honors for being the best hotel spa in Asia this year, the magazine said.

Aside from Boracay and Discovery Suites, the winners in other categories are Bangkok (world's best city), Singita Grumeti Reserves (world's best hotel), Crystal Cruises (world's best large ship cruise line), Seabourn (world's best small ship cruise line), Viking River Cruises (world's best river cruise line), Singapore Airlines (world's best international airline), Virgin America (world's best domestic airline), Micato Safaris (world's best safari outfitter), Row Adventures (world's best tour operator), Hertz (world's best car rental agency), Red Mountain Resort (world's best destination spa), and Capella Pedregal (world's best hotel spa).

"Even after 17 years, the opportunity to see what travel experiences resonate with our readers still intrigues and delights me. While some passions change over time, the allure of the exotic and the new remains as strong as ever, as does the attraction to trips that provide distinctive and long-lasting memories," "Travel + Leisure" editor-in-chief Nancy Novogrod said in a press statement.

The full results of the 17th annual "Travel + Leisure" World's Best Awards survey revealing readers' favorite hotels, cities, islands, cruise lines, airlines, car rental agencies, spas, safari outfitters, and tour operators are listed on www.TravelandLeisure.com and will be featured in the magazine's August digital editions and its August print issue that will hit US newsstands on July 20.

The 2012 World's Best Awards winners will be honored at a ceremony on July 19 that will be hosted by Novogrod and the magazine's vice-president and publisher, Jean-Paul Kyrillos, at the newly opened Conrad New York.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/07/06/12/boracay-named-2012-worlds-best-island

Iconic names used
The property tycoon Donald Trump has nothing to do with the under-construction “Trump Tower Manila.” He merely sold his brand to the developer, Century Properties, so that it would be able to lure more buyers for the apartments.

“It’s a way of attracting expatriate investors,” Alex Pomento, the head of research at Macquarie in Manila, told the newspaper. “They are more familiar with ‘Hollywood’ names.”

Big developers such as Ayala Land, Megaworld and Century Properties are also stepping up their marketing in the Arabian Gulf, where many Filipinos have already invested in condominium projects.

Anna Liza Sanjuan-Gonzales, who works in publishing in Abu Dhabi, has lived in the Emirates for eight years. She bought an Ayala Land-built apartment in the commercial city of Makati as an investment.

“The Philippines real estate market was not affected by the downturn as much as other places,” she said. “The value of our property has increased.”

Christopher Tongco, another Filipino expat in Dubai, has already signed up for a two-bedroom off-plan apartment in Manila that cost the equivalent of about $108,908. 

Togco, a newlywed, will have about 35 percent of the purchase price paid over five years in monthly installments of $694 with the balance due on handover.


Memories of Dubai’s bubble?
Despite Philippine’s robust property market activity, and Manila last week approving a 10 percent increase in government spending next year to about $48 billion, economists fear a Dubai-style boom and bust in the property sector. 

Real estate services firm in Manila, Jones Lang LaSalle, estimates that 154,000 new units will be built in the country between this year and 2016: 30 percent more than the 118,000 units completed between 1999 and last year. However, as was seen in Dubai, the question remains whether these new units can all be absorbed by end users.

Property prices in the Philippines have risen by about 4 percent annually in the past four years, according to S&P, thereby pushing off the likeliness of an asset bubble at least in the short-term. 

S&P also says that the risk of a credit-fuelled bubble in the country is low because of a funding model that relies largely on expat remittances rather than bank lending.

And unlike the UAE, the high population in the Philippines and the influx of expatriate cash into the property industry is helping the country to shake off its reputation as an Asian underperformer while consumer confidence grows and government anti-corruption reforms begin to bite.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/09/225365.html