Property firm going public in 2010l

Philippine Daily Inquirer

GLOBE ASIATIQUE REALTY HOLDINGS Corp., a big player in the affordable residential property market, is planning an initial public offering of shares worth up to P3 billion and may be the first company to sell new equity in the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2010.

GA founder, chair and president Delfin Lee said in an interview Wednesday that the property company would tap the capital market to sustain the company’s robust expansion, which is being driven by a huge backlog of low-cost housing supply in the country.

The application for IPO, worth at least P1 billion to as high as P3 billion and equivalent to about 15-26 percent of the firm’s outstanding stock, is now only awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PSE. The debut on the local bourse is estimated to happen by February next year, GA executive vice president Dexter Lee said.

BDO Capital and RCBC Capital have been mandated as underwriter for the public offering.

The company sells housing units for as low as P400,000 in its township projects. It distinguishes itself from competition by offering affordable residential units that offer amenities seen only in more expensive developments. “They don’t look like low-cost housing at all,” the GA president said.

“These projects gain market acceptability because they have assured financing from Pag-Ibig. The beauty of this project is our focus on the real market, the end users,” he added.

About 70 percent of its business comes from the low-cost residential market and only 30 percent from the high-end market. GA welcomes the entry of bigger players into the affordable housing market, given that the property industry, at present, could produce only 300,000 housing units a year or a small fraction of the more than 3 million domestic backlog in housing units. Doris C. Dumlao