DESPITE the many businesses it has ventured in, ranging from the hotel and banking industries, the Metrobank Group of Companies is not yet keen to enter into an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
“Right now, it’s too early to tell,” said Alfred Ty, Federal Land Inc. (FLI) president.
FLI is the real estate arm of the Metrobank group, which developed among others, the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu.
Unlike business tycoons like the Ayala group, SM group and the Aboitiz group to name a few, who have ventured into an IPO for a bigger capital infusion, Ty said the company has yet to further study the local and foreign investing communities before it enlists in the stock market.
Earlier, Aboitiz Power Corp., a wholly owned holding company for the electricity interests of Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) Inc., said it is now planning for a second IPO as the company is set to hold an international road show and drum up investor interest.
Revenues
For its part, Cebu Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of the Ayala Group, earned over P1 billion last 2006, mostly from the sale of real property and revenues derived from the Ayala Center Cebu.
The company also posted an income growth of 76 percent to P207 million—a 10-year high according to the company’s records.
However, Metrobank is not closing its doors to the possibility of joining the stock market, Ty said in an interview.
What Metrobank plans to do in the short run is to develop more tourism and information technology-related projects in Luzon and eventually tap more of the Visayas market, particularly in Cebu.
“We’re turning idle assets of Metrobank into income generating businesses like township developments,” Ty said.
According to him, Metrobank’s properties in Luzon are located in Fort Bonifacio, Marikina and Pasig.
FLI is set to develop its 10.5-hectare property in Fort Bonifacio, Manila, with an investment of at least P20 billion for the development, Ty said.
Although FLI is still contemplating on additional real estate developments in Cebu, he said, for now, they will focus on developing the 7.5-hectare property of Marco Polo Plaza in Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu City.
The second phase of the development is the construction of a multi-million-peso recreational and sports facility that will include a tennis court and a bigger swimming pool. (MMM)
