AYALA Land, Inc. (ALI) plans to develop commercial facilities and land parcels using the proceeds from the sale of a commercial center in Pasig City to its subsidiary AREIT, Inc.
In a regulatory filing on Monday, ALI said it expects to earn P5.1 billion from AREIT’s purchase of The 30th commercial center, located on Meralco Ave. in Pasig City.
ALI said the proceeds will be used to fund ongoing and future investments such as two mixed-use offices and malls, namely: Parklinks, a five-storey mall and office building that covers the boundaries of Pasig City and Quezon City; and Gatewalk Central, a four-level mall and office building in Cebu.
The company said it also plans to use the proceeds in One Ayala mall, a five-storey mall in Makati; One Ayala BPO, a two-tower office development in Makati; and one land parcel each in Cavite, Pampanga, and Tarlac, respectively.
In October last year, it announced that AREIT’s board of directors approved the purchase of the 75,000-square meter The 30th commercial center, which is composed of an office tower and a retail podium.
“As a result of the transaction, AREIT’s recurring income portfolio will reach 344,000 square meters,” the company said in the disclosure.
Under the real estate investment trust (REIT) guidelines, AREIT is required to reinvest its offer proceeds to the Philippines within a year from its initial public offering (IPO).
In August last year, AREIT conducted a P12.33-billion IPO, which marked the first REIT listing in the Philippines.
The company recently announced the acquisition of a 9.8-hectare land in Laguna Technopark for P1.1 billion, which is being leased by Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc.
Meanwhile, AREIT said in a separate statement that it had received several awards as the first REIT to list in the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The company said it received citations such as the “South East Asia Deal of the Year” by FinanceAsia; the “Best IPO in the Philippines” by the Asset Country Awards 2020; and contributed to ALI being selected as “2020 Best Investor Relations for a Corporate Transaction award in South East Asia” by United Kingdom-based IR Magazine.
AREIT added that under its recently disclosed three-year investment strategy, it aims for a 10% to 12% total shareholder return via organic expansion and new acquisitions, and a follow-on offering in 2022.
“The strategy seeks to maintain the company’s leadership position in the Philippine REIT sector in terms of asset size and market capitalization,” the company said.
On Monday, shares in AREIT at the stock exchange rose by 2.32% or 70 centavos to end at P30.85 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
