Comprising 20 towers, Manhattan Garden City is the country’s largest condominium project

Thinking big in a booming market
Already a colossus in the Philippines’ real estate market, leading developer Megaworld has plans for massive new investment over the next decade

When it comes to thinking big in the real estate sector, no other company in the Philippines thinks bigger than the appropriately named Megaworld Corporation. Founded and directed by its Chairman and President, Andrew Tan, Megaworld is the country’s largest developer of residential condominiums and its biggest landlord to business process outsourcing operations.
Mr Tan, whose knack for spotting and catering for future trends has made Megaworld the success story it is today, foresees good times ahead. “The property market is on the verge of an unprecedented boom that will last five or six years,” he says.

And he believes his company will maintain its position at the forefront of the sector, even in an increasingly competitive environment. “Megaworld will experience unparalleled growth in the balance of this decade as it continues to lead the way in the key growth sectors in residential and BPO office developments,” he predicts.

With annual investment of 47 billion pesos (£504 million) planned for its expansion over the next 10 years, Megaworld is one of the leading investors in the country. This year alone, it plans to spend a massive 16 billion pesos on residential, BPO and retail developments in six mega-community projects in Metro Manila, the metropolitan area that contains the capital of the Philippines and 16 neighbouring cities.

In a period of less than 20 years, Megaworld has developed and completed 50 residential, office and commercial projects. Last year, it registered record profits of 2.04 billion pesos – a 76 per cent increase on its 2005 results. The company’s major projects include McKinley Hill and Forbestown Centre in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, the Newport City Development in Pasay City and the Cityplace development in Binondo, Manila.

The 16-hectare Eastwood City is Megaworld’s flagship development, and has transformed Libis in Quezon City into a dynamic urban centre. Combining residences, workplaces and commercial centres, it will eventually feature 18 high rise towers.

ANDREW TAN Chairman and President of Megaworld

The development includes Eastwood City Cyberpark, the first IT park in the Philippines, and is home to the country’s largest BPO community. In February, Megaworld launched Eastwood LeGrand, a luxury residential development. In April construction started on the mixed-use 27-storey Global One Centre, specifically designed to accommodate business process outsourcing operations as well as residences.

“The fully masterplanned Eastwood City will include top shopping and dining facilities, enabling BPO workers to relax and work better,” comments Mr Tan.

With demand for office space expanding at the same rate as for residential, Megaworld plans to build one or two office towers in its prime development areas every year. Megaworld has a commitment to build more than 500,000 square metres of BPO office space within the next 5 years, of which around 230,000 square metres are under construction.

The McKinley Hill Cyberpark, which has been declared a special economic zone, will provide a total of 200,000 square metres of high-tech office space for BPO and IT firms.

The 50-hectare McKinley Hill mega-community project is expected to generate about 60 billion pesos in investments. The development will include single detached homes in a Mediterranean-style village, townhouses, a mid rise condominium, BPO offices, high rise luxury residences, embassies, international schools and a college, mall, sports amenities, events venue, retail and a hotel.

One of the first institutions to move there will be the British Embassy. “We are committed to making McKinley Hill the most modern, beautiful and vibrant new township in the country today,” says Mr Tan.

Meanwhile, Megaworld’s Manhattan Garden City, a five-hectare joint venture with the Arenta Group, is transforming the Arenta Centre in Cubao, Quezon. The single largest residential condominium development in the country, it will eventually comprise 20 residential towers and is the country’s only transit-oriented development, featuring direct connection to the metro. At least three hectares of the site will be reserved for resort-inspired amenities such as swimming pools, gardens and landscaping.

Megaworld was recently ranked by FinanceAsia as the number one Philippine company in its Best-managed Asian Companies Survey in 2007. The company was placed first in three categories: Best-managed Company, Most Committed to Corporate Governance and Best Investor Relations.

Recently Megaworld has been turning its attention to the tourism sector, forming a 1 billion pesos (£10.7 million) company, Megaworld Resort Estates, to engage in the development of hotels, leisure parks and other tourism-related projects.

It has also signed an agreement with another firm, Fil-Estate Land, for the development of a resort community in Laurel, Batangas. The project, dubbed Twin Lakes, will be a residential resort community built on about 731 hectares of land, and is expected to generate 40 billion pesos over seven years.