ALI Sees Sustained Demand for Office Space

AYALA LAND, Inc. (ALI) is expecting a sustained demand for work spaces in the Philippines, as the company targets to bring its office inventory to 825,000 square meters (sq.m.) by the yearend.

The property arm of Ayala Corp. has noted a continued demand for leasable office spaces driven by the further expansion of the business process outsourcing industry (BPO).

“The higher occupancy we experienced last year will continue,” ALI Offices Head Carol T. Mills said in the statement, noting the company is well positioned to address the market’s needs with the development of new office spaces in major business hubs nationwide.

ALI currently develops properties spanning more than 6,000 hectares into economic growth centers similar to Ayala Center in Makati City, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, Ayala Center Cebu and Nuvali in Laguna.

The company now has 715,000 square meters of gross leasable area with the completion of the BGC Corporate Center, Bonifacio Stopover and the Alabang Town Center BPO facility; the additional of buildings at the UP-Ayala Land Technohub in Quezon City and Cebu IT Park; and the acquisition of the Aegis PeopleSupport building in Cebu.

ALI targets to expand its leasable office area to 825,000 sq.m. before the year ends.

The company recently raised P8 billion and P7 billion -- the first and second tranches of a three-year debt securities program amounting to P50 billion -- to further support its expansion plans.

ALI spent P23.4 billion for project and capital expenditures in the first quarter of the year.

The company netted P4.7 billion during the three-month period, a 14% increase from the P4.12 billion recorded a year earlier, after generating P26.97 billion in revenues through the sustained growth of its diverse property development businesses.

“Ayala Land Offices has been at the forefront of providing a complete line of office real estate solutions located in the most strategic sites,” Ms. Mills noted.