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DESPITE
what it sees as challenging times for the property
sector, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) continues to be in an
investment mode with 100 projects now ongoing.
In an
interview, Jaime Ayala, ALI president, said ALI is not
only pursuing its projects but is exploring other
potential projects.
“We
continue to look for opportunities because there are
still many bright sectors out there,” he said.
Ayala,
however, admitted that with the slowdown in the global
economy, ALI may find it more difficult to sell its
products.
“The
prices have been very strong. The cost of steel has
doubled and cement price is up since the beginning of
the year. There will be a lot of compression on margins,
but we try to work on other costs,” Ayala said.
Since
last year, ALI has increased prices by 20 percent.
“But we
don’t increase the price unless we can improve the
product,” Ayala said. “[It doesn’t mean that] because
our cost goes up, our customers should pay more,” he
added.
This
year, ALI allotted P24 billion for capital expenditure,
60 percent higher than the P15 billion it earmarked in
2007.
This
year’s capex will support ALI’s aggressive expansion in
the residential and office development segments, and
support priming activities in strategic landbanks in the
Makati Central Business District, Bonifacio Global City
and Canlubang, Laguna.
“It’s
the biggest capex so far in the history of the company.
This is a clear indication of how upbeat we are in the
real-estate sector even with the global developments in
the financial market,” Ayala.
The
capex will be funded through a combination of
internally-generated cash and borrowings. |
