PBXT TAKES FULL OWNERSHIP OF JPARK
Chairman Justin Uy says the family bought out shares of Korean partner Park Yong Jun
AFTER Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa was rebranded to JPark Island Resort and Waterpark Cebu (JPark) last year, Justin Uy, the chairman and president of Philippine BXT Corp. (PBXT) announced that the company behind the 10-hectare themed-park resort in Brgy. Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City is now 100 percent Filipino-owned.
Uy, at the sidelines of the resort’s sixth anniversary on Wednesday, said the family bought majority of the shares of the company, which was previously held in partnership with Korean partner Park Yong Jun, then PBXT chairman.
“We are now 100 percent Filipinoowned since last May,” said Uy. “With the new management, we will be attracting more foreign nationals to come to Cebu and stay in JPark. We will be getting clients, not only from Korea, but other emerging markets like China, Japan, US and Europe.”
Amid the buy-out, JPark’s management remained the same. The resort is headed by a Korean general manager Sean Noh. Its director for sales and marketing as well as its food and beverage director are managed by Korean nationals as well.
PBXT is investing P1.5 billion in the next two years for the planned expansion of JPark.
Uy said at least three features will be added to resort before the end of the year, which include, among others, an additional amenity for children, a club facility, where guests can hang out and more rooms.
“There’s a huge market for tourism in Cebu. We plan to put up more facilities because we intend to capture the market. We think that the bigger the facility, the better, especially that we are also targeting the millennials,” said Uy.
Early this year, the company added two more hectares to the originally eighthectare hospitality development, buoyed by its growing number of foreign guests.
JPark has about 556 rooms. It recorded its highest occupancy level last month at 92.5 percent.
Aside from the expansion plans for JPark in Mactan, the company is keen on pouring more investments in the tourism industry. PBXT will also be pursuing expansion plans to other key tourism destinations in the country like Palawan, Bohol and Boracay.
According to Uy, the company has yet to purchase properties but is currently scouting potential locations in the named areas. He thinks the company could spend at least P1 billion each for hotels or resort developments in these key destinations.
“We are doing it one step at a time. As soon as the current expansion of JPark is done, we might proceed with other planned tourism projects in other areas. We plan to become a chain of resorts in the future,” said Uy, whose family also owns JCentre Mall and Profood International Manufacturing Corp.
Tourism prospects remain high for PBXT. Uy disclosed the company still has a 30-hectare property in Mactan, which they plan to turn into an integrated tourism development. He, however, declined to disclose more details but said the company is scheduled to announce this “big project” before the end of the year.
“The Philippines still has room to grow, as far as tourism is concerned. It is just that we don’t have the infrastructure. Our peers in Asean, like Thailand, have been getting bigger in terms of tourism. We would like to also achieve that because we’ve got also the best attractions here,” said Uy.