Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the property-development firm led by former politician Manuel B. Villar Jr., said it targets to have 60 malls by the end of 2020, a threefold increase from what it has right now.
“We remain bullish with the expansion plans of our leasing business through our subsidiary, Starmalls Inc., to add 38 more malls in the next three years,” said Villar, the Vista Land chairman. Currently, the company and its subsidiaries have 22 malls.
“We remain optimistic for the industry, given the strong demand for our commercial spaces and housing products, propelled by the stable growth in the disposable income, OFW remittances and sound Philippine macroeconomic fundamentals,” he said.
Consolidated capital-expenditure budget for 2018 was set at P50 billion, a significant portion of which was allotted to the construction of malls. The company expects to hit 1.4 million square meters (sq m) in gross floor area by the end of this year, from last year’s 1 million sq m. The said target is bigger than its previous target of 1.3 million sq m. “Our company is poised to have another banner year for 2018, as our additional leasable spaces are now contributing significantly to our current financial results, in addition to the sustained double-digit growth in our residential business. We are looking at a double digit 10-percent to 15-percent consolidated net income growth this year,”
Vista Land President and CEO Manuel Paolo Villar said. Vista Land has an established presence in about 133 cities and municipalities across 46 provinces, and intends to focus on the development of its communities, integrated urban development combining lifestyle retail, prime office space, university town, health care, themed residential developments and leisure components. The companies owned by Villar are allotting some P175 billion in capital expenditures through 2020, mainly in real estate, property leasing, retail, hotel, education and health.
About 60 percent of the total capex will go to real-estate development and about a third of the amount to leasing and retail business, as well as for the development of new retail concepts.
“We are very bullish [for 2018], as we take advantage of the various collaborations among our companies, in addition to the sustained sound Philippine macroeconomic fundamentals. Our various expansion programs implemented in our property development, including memorial parks, malls and retail businesses, are yielding positive results and are taking advantage of the significant synergies that we have unlocked,” Villar said.
His listed firm Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. will pursue its plan to put up malls and residential projects in the countryside, as it aims to deliver double-digit growth in the next three years, while All Value Holdings Corp., a privately held firm of the family, will be going full blast with the expansion of its home improvement, supermarket, bakeshop and coffee-shop businesses.
Villar said the capex will be funded by both internally generated cash and borrowings.