“We are aiming for nine projects for 2012: four business process outsourcing [office spaces], one retail project, three high-rise residentials, and one township,” Danilo E. Ignacio, Eton Properties president and chief operating officer, told BusinessWorld in a telephone interview last week.
This comes as demand for affordable housing is seen to remain robust next year.
“The affordable and mid-income residential market is growing, and this is where we will tap our growth,” Mr. Ignacio said.
Currently, Eton Properties’ wholly owned subsidiary, Belton Communities, Inc., offers middle-income real estate projects in North Belton Communities in Novaliches, Quezon City, as well as in Eton City in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Three high-rise condominiums are also in the pipeline, as well as plans for a new township project, Mr. Ignacio said, declining to elaborate.
Two office buildings will meanwhile rise within Eton Centris, Quezon City, one of Eton Properties’ existing township projects, Mr. Ignacio said, while the retail development will be built within Eton City.
Other factors that will help Eton Properties build its projects for next year include growth in BPO, government eagerness to advance the tourism industry, and good lending conditions and exchange rates, Mr. Ignacio added.
“Overall, it will be a good year for the company,” he said.
Public float
The firm also expects to raise its public float level to the 10% level required by the local bourse by next year,despite global uncertainties hounding the economy.
Eton Properties’ free float level currently stands at 5.6%.
“We’re working on it, and eventually we will attain the requirement,” Mr. Ignacio said.
Eton Properties was incorporated in 1971 under the name Balabac Oil Exploration & Drilling Co., Inc. to engage in oil exploration and mineral development projects in the Philippines. It eventually changed its primary purpose to a holding company, with real estate development and oil exploration as among its secondary purposes.
It currently operates three brands: high-end Eton, middle-income Belton, and affordable First Homes. The firm has launched 43 projects since it entered real estate development in 2007.
Source:http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=Eton-to-launch-nine-projects-next-year&id=43501
