Filinvest Group eyeing sustained growth – CEO

GOTIANUN-LED Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) is targeting sustained growth this year on the back of contributions from core businesses and new investment opportunities, a top executive said.

“We’re always looking for new opportunities for growth — new pillars in terms of enhancing the current portfolio,” FDC President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rhoda Huang said in a recent interview.

“We look at a diversified portfolio of investments, but we need to focus on our core. We will be opportunistic,” she said, adding that “sustaining growth for the group” was their goal for 2024.

FDC recently raised P10 billion via an offering of fixed-rate retail bonds due 2026, the proceeds of which will be used to partially fund maturing bonds, capital expenditures (capex) and equity investments.

“Against this market environment, we have to remain opportunistic. We’ve seen a couple of opportunities, but nothing in terms of significant complementation to the portfolio,” Huang said.

The executive said the holding company would allocate a larger capex this year but did not provide further details.

FDC Chief Finance Officer Brian Lim said last year’s capex was roughly P15 billion. The amount was around 57 percent lower than the P35-billion combined capex budget disclosed in April 2023.

“Currently, when you look at [our] financial performance, not all the pillars are already pre-pandemic. [This] 2024, what we envisage is the pre-pandemic level. Growth drivers were still envisioned against those pillars,” Huang said.

The firm currently has investments in real estate development and leasing, banking and financial services, hotel and resort management, power generation and agriculture.

With regard to investments, Huang said FDC was also looking at more opportunities in the renewable energy sector, particularly on the solar side.

“So, it’s unclear whether we will just continue with solar or [make] more forays into solar. Currently, that’s being reviewed amid the climate, the returns and the output out of solar,” she continued.

Higher inflation and interest rates, meanwhile, could temper the company’s growth as these “don’t jive” with the property and real estate investment trust sectors, Huang added.

FDC shares were unchanged at P5.50 apiece on Thursday.