CLI forms alliance with Ascott

Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) has formed a strategic alliance with The Ascott Limited of Singapore to double its number of apartment units to 1,600 units by 2022.

In a signing ceremony Thursday, officials from both companies said with

Soberano III the partnership, they would be able to serve the growing tourism market in the Philippines.

At present, CLI has 804 apartment units with The Ascott and it expects to pour in roughly P5 billion to double the number to 1,600 units spread across four to five developments.

In a briefing after the signing of the agreement, CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said the sites being eyed for the new Ascott properties include Mactan Cebu and the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and Dumaguete.

“We are happy with our partnership with Ascott as we increase our hospitality portfolio and expand to key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao,” Soberano said.

He said Ascott’s expertise in the hospitality business is a good counterpart for the company’s familiarity with the VisMin market.

Ascott chief executive officer Kevin Goh, who flew in from Singapore, said the alliance with CLI builds on the strategic partnerships forged around the world to accelerate Ascott’s growth globally.

“This will fast-track our expansion and will strengthen Ascott’s leadership position as the largest international hospitality player int the Philippines. Having leading industry players choose to partner with Ascott speaks volumes of the value we bring to our partners. We are confident that Ascott will exceed 80,000 units in 2018 and expand to 160,000 units worldwide by 2023,” Goh said.

To date CLI has both horizontal and vertical developments with a total portfolio of 969 rooms.

Its service residence projects with The Ascott include the 180-room Citadines Cebu City in Base Line Center, the 250room Citadines Paragon Davao to be operational by 2021, the 1809-room lyf Cebu City to open in 2021 and the 200-room Citadines Bacolod City which will open in the fourth quarter of 2021.

In the Philippines, The Ascott is the largest hospitality player with 20 properties offering over 4,300 units. These include seven operating properties and 13 projects under development in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Bacolod.

Of this, 1,085 units are in VisMin, of which 804 or 74 percent is CLI’s.

CLI went public last year and continues with its expansion plans in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.