The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 has concluded its search for the country’s most inspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc., with the participation of co-presenters Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Philippine Stock Exchange. In the next few weeks, BusinessWorld will feature each finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017

Jose Soberano III
Chairman and CEO,
Cebu Landmasters, Inc.

MANY successful entrepreneurs often cite passion as the prime motivator that drives them to pursue their dreams with “zeal and zest.”

Jose Soberano III, 61, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) is no exception.

Mr. Soberano graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Economics, attended the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Strategic Business Economics Program and completed the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate at Harvard University.

He then joined the infrastructure investment development arm of a major Philippine conglomerate, honing his skills in banking, finance and real estate. He also spent some time working for a large local bank and real estate developer. These diverse experiences helped coalesce his passion and vision into a drive to build quality and affordable homes for Cebuanos.

In 2003, he established CLI, seeking to address housing needs of workers in emerging industrial sites within his provincial hometown in the third district of Cebu.

“I realized that this large contracting company owned by a friend had over 2,000 employees who were getting Pag-Ibig benefits, yet they could not use them because there were no housing developments in our district. So, I bought a three-hectare property and developed affordable housing units.”

He named this development San Josemaria Village in Balamban, Cebu, handling every aspect from planning and implementation, to presenting to prospective buyers.

Mr. Soberano later expanded San Josemaria Village to Minglanilla as well as Toledo and Talisay cities offering the same affordability and quality living for mid-income workers and overseas Filipino worker (OFW) families.

With the growth of the business process outsourcing industry in the area, demand for residences close to the central business district increased. Besides the Base Line Residences and the Midori Plains, CLI also launched the Asia Premier Residences, the first condominium project in the Cebu IT Park.

In 2012, CLI developed the twin-tower Midori Residences in the prime area of AS Fortuna in Mandaue City.

In 2015, CLI launched its pioneering project in Mindanao, the MesaVerte Residences Cagayan de Oro, followed by the Baseline Center, CLI’s first mixed-use residential project in Metro Cebu, which includes CLI’s first hotel venture, Citadines Cebu City by Ascott.

Mr. Soberano then ventured into office condominiums with projects such as Park Centrale, Base Line HQ, and Latitude Corporate Center.

In just 14 years, CLI has become Cebu’s No. 1 local housing developer in Metro Cebu according to a Santos Knight Frank study, and is recognized as one of the top local developers across the Visayas and Mindanao.

For Mr. Soberano, CLI’s hands-on service and strong familiarity with the Visayas and Mindanao markets gives the firm its edge.

Even now that CLI is a multimillion-peso company, he still adds his personal touch and treats it as a family business. According to him, personalized service will remain a cornerstone for CLI’s future growth strategy.

Mr. Soberano said CLI applies a “landbank lite” or “acquire to develop” strategy, allowing the company to turn around projects in just six months from land acquisition to project launch and two to three years from launch to turnover.

“We’ve grown enough to have that kind of credibility in the market because we deliver the best quality within reasonable and reliable timetables,” Mr. Soberano said.

As the firm grew, Mr. Soberano’s family became involved in the business to help oversee operations. He credits them, as well as his 200-strong work force, for the company’s success. He adds that the company’s family-style culture sustains its performance. “In my organization, we always emphasize this: there is no republican thinking. There are no territorial limits. We’re one and the same,” he says.

In 2017, CLI achieved a significant milestone with its initial public offering, which allowed the company to tap private investors to help provide its capital needs, particularly for expansion to key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao. CLI is launching P17 billion worth of projects in Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo and Cebu starting this year.

While CLI focuses on real estate, the company also has efforts in health care, education and other fields.

As the chairman of the board at the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise, Mr. Soberano extends training and scholarships to underprivileged students. In partnership with the Rotary Club of Cebu, CLI also promotes blood donation to children with age-related chronic diseases.

For transforming a family business into the real estate industry leader in Metro Cebu as well as elsewhere in the Visayas and Mindanao, Mr. Soberano was named by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry as its Entrepreneur of the Year 2017.

Mr. Soberano tells aspiring entrepreneurs “to keep discovering and exploring.”

“Opportunities will knock. When they do, though, you’ll have to balance it out with your capabilities and readiness. Take stock of yourself, be realistic and move forward.”

The official airline of the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2017 is Philippine Airlines. Media sponsors are BusinessWorld and the ABS-CBN News Channel. Banquet sponsors are Bench; Bounty Fresh Food, Inc.; CDO Foodsphere; Fiori Di Marghi; First Metro Investment Corp.; Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.; Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.; Intermed Marketing Phils., Inc.; Jollibee Foods Corp.; LBC; SteelAsia and Universal Harvester, Inc.

The winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 will be announced in an Oct. 18 awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La hotel. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines will represent the country in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2018.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program is produced globally by Ernst & Young.

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