Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), one of the country’s top developers of premium office spaces, is offering the business process outsourcing industry a strategic location for their growing business needs in Davao City.

Robinsons Cybergate Davao, a two-story mixed-used landmark at JP Laurel Avenue, Bajada, boasts of a one-of-a-kind retail component and upper level of 5,200 sqm space that is perfect for BPO/call center and traditional offices

Accredited by PEZA, the building is equipped with 24/7 utility provisions and redundant power capacities.

Davao, the only city outside of Metro Manila with more than a million residents, is an ideal site for the BPO industry as noted by the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPA/P). The city which is included in the BPA/P Top 10 Next Wave Cities and recognized by KPMG’s 2009 Exploring Global Frontiers IT Advisory as among the world’s 31 new emerging destination for IT and BPO.

Architect Henry Yap, general manager of Robinsons Land Corp. Office Buildings Division, said Davao has the largest talent pool within its boundaries and is supported by good infrastructure that allows an environment where the IT-BPO industry can flourish.

Known for pioneering the mixed-used development, Robinsons’ newly-opened Cybergate Davao has numerous restaurants, stores and a supermarket where local residents and employees can dine, shop and entertain themselves.

MANILA, Philippines - Robinsons Cybergate Plaza, Robinsonsland’s latest and the fourth office building at the Peza-accredited Robinsons Cyberpark complex, is nearing completion and will soon provide locators with an ideal combination of work, rest and recreational facilities and unparalleled convenience.

Robinsonsland’s seventh office building, Cybergate Plaza, is within easy reach from any city or municipality in the Metropolis, a major consideration among BPO/call center applicants when deciding on which company to work for. It will also offer numerous options for shopping, dining, entertainment within the building and the adjacent Forum Robinsons, a specialty mall. For workers craving for a little bit more, popular malls such as Robinsons Galleria are all just a few minutes away.

But Cybergate Plaza has more to offer than just location and retail conveniences. It has ample parking, dedicated elevators and cost efficient state-of-the-art air-conditioning systems that allow tenants to save on their utility bills. The building has back-up power generators, overhead and underground water tanks to ensure uninterrupted operations and services. A fire reserve tank supporting the sprinkler system which, in addition to a fire detection and alarm system, will also give tenants peace of mind.

Guests will also have easy access to transient lodging on two floors located within the building. For those who want to be pampered, easily accessible from Cybergate Plaza are luxurious hotels such as Holiday Inn Galleria Manila and Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, among others.

For inquiries on Robinsons Cybergate Plaza office space leasing, call Maricel at 395-21-77 or email: office.buildings@robinsonsland.com.

MANILA, Philippines - Gokongwei-owned property firm Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) said it has successfully raised another P5 billion from a recent bond offering which was more than four times oversubscribed, as both institutional and retail investors snapped up the issue.

This was the second bond offering undertaken by RLC for the year following the maiden bond issue held last July.

“The strong market demand for the first tranche of RLC bonds encouraged the company to follow on with the issuance of another round of retail bonds. This reaffirms the market’s confidence in RLC and in the company’s impressive credit standing and strategic planning,” said James Go, chairman and chief executive of RLC.

The bond issue was assigned the highest credit rating of PRS Aaa by leading domestic credit rating firm PhilRatings indicating that the debt issue is of the highest quality with minimal credit risk and that the issuer’s capacity to meet its financial obligations is extremely strong.

PhilRatings, in assigning the rating, took into account the company’s consistent robust operating profit and strong cash flow from a diverse portfolio of real estate assets.

The five-year and one-day retail bonds were priced at 8.25 percent per annum and are set to mature in 2014. RLC earlier announced that it will use the proceeds from the issue to fund capital expenditure requirements.

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC) and SB Capital Investment Corp. were joint issue managers, and were also joint lead managers together with BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and BPI Capital Corp. HSBC served as sole bookrunner for the transaction.

RLC, the real-estate arm of JG Summit Holdings, Inc., is one of the Philippines’ leading real estate developers in terms of revenues, number of projects and total project size. It is engaged in the development and operation of shopping malls and hotels, mixed-use properties, office and residential buildings, as well as land and residential housing developments located in key cities and other urban areas nationwide.

MANILA, Philippines - JG Summit Holdings Inc., the listed holding firm of the family of taipan John Gokongwei Jr., reported a five-fold jump in its first half net earnings, fueled by record-breaking results in the second quarter on remarkably strong growth of its food, air transportation and telecommunications businesses, as well as mark-to-market gains.

In a financial report filed with securities regualators, JG Summit said its net earnings amounted to P3.87 billion during the period compared with P629.61 million a year earlier. In the second quarter, the company’s net earnings reached a record P3.01 billion due to the recovery of financial markets overseas and the strengthening of the peso.

Consolidated revenues reached P53.34 billion, up 15.45 percent from P46.2 billion. Nearly half of total revenues came from the food group, contributing P25.69 billion, higher than the year earlier figure of P21.15 billion.

The group’s air transporation business under the Cebu Pacific brand chipped in P11.39 billion in revenues, an improvement of 21 percent over the previous level.

Revenues from its telecommunications unit, Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. rose 36 percent to P6.69 billion from P4.92 billion.

The revenue contribution of the group’s real estate and petrochemicals businesses, meanwhile, declined two percent and 42.3 percent, respectively.

The banking services group, on the other hand, pumped in P521.69 billion in revenues or an increase of six percent from P490.03 million a year earlier.
Even excluding the effects of the financial and foreign exchange markets, JG Summit’s core earnings went up 12.3 percent to P5.5 billion.

In addition, equity in net earnings of associates amounted to P1.66 billion, up 82.4 percent from P911.62 million.
Consolidated costs and services rose to P32.26 billion due to increased sales volume coupled with the increase in costs of its major raw materials. Aside from this, the airline and the telecoms businesses also recorded higher cost of services relative to their revenues for the first half of the year while operating expenses climbed 23.6 percent to P13.28 billion.

Financing costs and other charges, on the other hand, went up 29.8 percent to P3.58 billion largely due to higher level of debt financing as well as a higher peso exchange rate used.

Mark-to-market gains recognized during the period amounted to P1.14 billion as against a loss of P1.78 billion. The market values of the group’s financial assets have shown signs of recovery especially in the second quarter, brought about by the improving confidence in the global financial markets.

Foreign exchange loss declined 59.5 percent to P1.07 billion due to higher peso devaluation while interest income fell 19.5 percent to P943.66 million owing to lower average investment portfolio as compared to last year’s.

Other income amoounted to P335.7 million, down 55.4 percent due to lower trading gains realized this year in financial assets as well as last year’s recognition of gain on early repayment of various debts by a certain subsidiary.

Equity earnings from associated companies and joint ventures stood at 1.66 billion, up 82.4 percent from P911.62 million, owing to higher income recorded by UIC and higher rental income and gain on sales of residential properties.

As of end- June this year, the company’s balance sheet remains solid with consolidated assets of P260.73 billion.

MEDIUM-SIZED SECURITY BANK CORP. IS working on a joint venture agreement with the Gokongweis’ Robinsons Land Corp. for the development of a one-hectare property on Valero Street in Makati City into a mixed-use office and residential project.

The project includes a 24-story upscale high-rise residential development offering about 400 condominium units which may be launched in August, RLC senior vice president Raoul Littaua said yesterday.

The residential building is intended to be an “iconic” tower targeting the upscale market seeking residence within the country’s premier financial district, he added.

Construction is expected to be completed within five years after the launch. He said the proponents had yet to finalize the name for the project.

The project will offer residential units with relatively larger floor space than most high-rise buildings in the area.

Littaua said the project would also have an office space component but the residential component would be constructed first.

Under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ rules, banks are allowed to enter into property development ventures by contributing an idle property to such a development.

This is also a way of allowing the banks to unlock values from foreclosed properties.

LOCAL CREDIT watcher Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) has assigned the highest grade to Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp. planned bond issue, confident on the property firm’s ability to repay debts because of a strong balance sheet.

PhilRatings assigned a "PRS Aaa" to Robinsons Land’s P3-billion bond offering, which has an oversubscription option of an additional P2 billion, citing minimal risk.

"Obligations rated PRS Aaa are of the highest quality with minimal credit risk. Robinsons’ capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligations is extremely strong," PhilRatings said.

The rating agency likewise retained its highest rating on Robinsons Land’s previous P5-billion issuance of five-year bonds, saying the property company’s balance sheet in relation to an increase in issue size remains solid.

"While some financial ratios have slightly changed with the higher amount of the planned issue, measures of profitability, liquidity and leverage remain generally strong and sound," the credit rater said.

The first offering received a strong demand from investors prompting the property firm to issue another batch of fixed-rate bonds, bringing the firm’s total bond offering this year to P10 billion.

The Gokongwei company had said proceeds of the two bonds would be used for capital expenditures, but did not provide other details.

The first bond offering carried a yield of 8.50% per annum and a tenor of five-year and one day, higher than the 8.25% that Sy-led holding company SM Investments Corp. obtained for five-year and one day bonds it recently offered.

Robinsons Land has yet to finalize the details for its second bond offering and must still secure the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The real estate arm of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. plans to spend around P8 billion this year, lower than the P9.5 billion in expenditures last year.

Robinsons Land also plans to launch five condominium projects this year, among which include Vimana Verde Residences in Pasig, and will open its first budget hotel, the Go Hotels, at Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong.

In the first three months of the year, Robinsons Land earned P935 million in profits, a fifth higher from last year even if revenues declined by 4% to P2.71 billion.

The company attributed the gain to mall operations, office rentals, and residential projects, which managed to offset the decline in the firm’s hotel division.

Shares in the company yesterday jumped by 5.63% or P0.40 to P7.50 per share.

CEBU CITY — Property developer Robinsons Land Corp (RLC) is set to open in the last quarter of this year its multi-million-peso Robinsons Cybergate Cebu, a mixed-use development at the Fuente Osmena rotunda in Cebu City’s uptown area.

The seven-storey building, which is 90 percent complete, sits on the company-owned property on Don Gil Garcia St., Cebu City, in front of Chong Hua Hospital and just across the Robinsons Mall and Cebu Midtown Hotel.

Robinsons Cybergate Cebu is expected to house business process outsourcing (BPO) offices and will also feature retail, health and wellness and medical establishments, according to RLC Director for Corporate Lease, Lourdes Alano and RLC Group Property Manager for Cebu, Hermosilla Irizari.

Alano and Irizari said the construction is on schedule and the building set to open in October.

Robinsons Cybergate Cebu is situated on a 5,500-square meter lot and has a gross floor area of 26,500 square meters, with gross leasable space of 12,500 square meters. It also has two basement parking levels with a combined of 229 parking slot capacity.

The building’s first two levels will house restaurants, banks, drug stores, food courts, specialty shops and al fresco dining outlets.

Alano estimated the first floor to house about 10 tenants while the second floor will accommodate from 20 to 30 tenants.

Health and wellness outlets, such as a health management organization, a spa and massage outlet and salon, among others, will occupy the third level of the building. (PNA)