FIL-JAP HOUSING JOINT VENTURE

A Filipino real estate company, PA Properties and Development Corp., signed a joint venture (JV) agreement last week with Japanese housing firm Hankyu Realty Co. Ltd. to develop an economic housing project in Dasmariñas City, Cavite.

PA Properties President Jonathan Lu disclosed that the JV involves the development of a 37-hectare property into a village with 868 units of townhouses and singledetached homes starting in October. The first phase will cover 11 hectares and its initial capitalization has been pegged at P656 million, to be jointly shouldered by PA Properties and Hankyu Realty on a 60-40 basis.

As the residential business arm of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group based in Osaka, Hankyu Realty has decades of experience in putting up some 60,000 houses and 20,000 condominium units across Japan.

Mr. Lu said Hankyu Realty possesses the technology that can enable PA Properties to improve the quality of mass shelter units in the Philippines. This would also help in addressing the country’s estimated five million housing backlog.

J. ALBERT GAMBOA is a consultant for public and private sector organizations. He is a member of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines and the International Association of Business Communicators.