Tan and Ayala property units in Laguna joint venture

Lucio Tan-owned Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. and Amaia Land Corp., the low-cost housing arm of Ayala Land, Inc., have formed a joint venture for a project in Calamba, Laguna. Eton told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday it would allow Amaia Land to develop four hectares of land in Calamba. Affiliate firms of the Lucio Tan group own the land. "Amaia proposes to develop [the property] under a joint venture arrangement as part of its residential subdivision project called Amaia Scapes Laguna," Eton said in announcing the alliance. Eton, the real estate arm of airline, tobacco, alcohol and banking magnate Tan, reported a sharp turnaround in finances in 2009, posting a net income of P294 million from a net loss of P130.7 million in the prior year. Ayala Land’s economic housing unit Amaia Land, launched last month, is being groomed to become the biggest residential brand of the country’s oldest conglomerate in five years. Ayala Land will spend P1.08 billion for Amaia Land in three years. The first Amaia project, the 20-hectare, 1,828-unit Amaia Scapes in Calamba, is expected to generate P1.6 billion in sales in four-and-a-half years. "Eton Properties will be the development manager of the property representing the land owners," the Tan-led company said in the disclosure. The joint venture partners will start enforcing the deal within the next six months, it added. The Amaia Land Website describes the project’s location, about two kilometers from the Batino exit of the South Luzon Expressway and 3.5 km from the city center, as being close to a number of major industrial parks. House-and-lot units will sell for P600,000 to P1.25 million each, with lot sizes of up to 75 square meters. The target market is families earning up to P50,000 a month. The Ayala Land unit is planning six more projects in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan and Pampanga and will put up a total of 12,000 units, competing head on with the likes of DMCI Homes, Inc., Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. and PHINMA Property Holdings Corp. The market is huge as there is an estimated shortage of 3.8 million housing units in the Philippines, primarily in the socialized and low-cost categories. Eton Properties shares lost 15 centavos to P3.75 apiece on Monday. Ayala Land, whose net profits slid by 16 percent to P4 billion last year, shed 25 centavos to close at P14 apiece on Tuesday. Ayala Land is operating under three major brands — Ayala Land Premier for the high-end segment, Alveo Land for the middle-income segment, and Avida Land for the affordable market. Amaia Land is being marketed as a sub-brand of Avida Land. This year, Ayala Land will seek to launch 9,200 residential units, more than triple the 3,000 launched last year. Eton Properties, meanwhile, will launch eight new projects — four residential, three commercial and one office project — this year. — Neil Jerome C. Morales, BusinessWorld