Antitrust watchdog OKs CLI-NTT venture

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has cleared a proposed joint venture by Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) with Singapore-registered NTT UD Asia Pte. Ltd. (NTT) for the construction of a residential tower in Cebu City.

In a filing on Thursday, property developer CLI said it had received the PCC certification, dated February 6, authorizing the establishment of CLI NUD Ventures Inc..

The clearance from the antitrust agency is among the regulatory requirements for the incorporation of the firm, which plans to develop and manage a high-rise condominium project within the Cebu IT Park.

CLI announced its partnership with NTT last September, saying the proposed residential project would add to its more than 100 developments across the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

The company remains “at the forefront of the action while maintaining a strong financial and operational discipline in order to healthily sustain the company’s growth,” CLI chairman and CEO Jose Soberano 3rd said.

The Visayas-Mindanao property developer, through subsidiary CLI Hotels & Resorts, launched last month its third hotel in Cebu City as part of efforts to boost its hospitality business.

With the opening of the 159room hotel, CLI now has 10 projects in its hospitality portfolio, featuring upward of 1,700 keys and with 316 rooms already completed.

It also targets launching two other hotels this year: the 200room Citadines Bacolod City, set to open next month, and Radisson Red, a 144-room development scheduled for completion before the year-end.

CLI, which caters to the highend, middle-income, economic, and socialized markets, is present in about 16 locations in the Visayas and Mindanao, including Cebu, Bohol, Misamis Oriental, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Davao.

NTT, meanwhile, is an international developer of office buildings, residential properties, and other mixed-use developments in Southeast Asia.

CLI shares were unchanged at P2.62 each on Thursday amid a 0.4-percent rise in the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.