Ortigas & Co allots P9 B for capex

Ortigas & Co. has allocated P9 billion in capital expenditures this year as it continues to pump up its projects.

The budget is higher than the P5 billion set aside for last year, Ortigas & Co. president and CEO Jaime Ysmael said in a recent interview.

Eventually, as the company expands, Ortigas & Co. would set aside a bigger amount for capex.

“This would increase to P10-to P15-billion in a couple of years more,” Ysmael said.

When asked how this would be funded, Ysmael explained the company’s healthy balance sheet could accommodate loans and internally generated cash.

“It’s within the balance sheet as we have more leasable space that will allow us to have more room in our balance sheet to absorb loans,” he added.

As the company moves to expand in the coming years, it is also keeping its options open on going public.

“But first, we have to demonstrate our capability first to deliver the goods. It’s an option…the way we look at it. Expansion requires capital and opportunities that may come our way which are outside our current plans and that may also need financing so it’s there. It’s a trigger that we can pull, but of course we also need to consult our shareholders,” Ysmael said.

In all, the company plans to expand even beyond its projects in Ortigas and would continue to do gradual land banking.

Its newest prime development is Ortigas East, formerly called Frontera Verde, which would be developed into a fully integrated mixed-use property designed to bring connected living through accessibility, world-class infrastructures, and eco-efficient facilities.

The 16-hectare development is located in the avenues of C-5, Ortigas, and Julia Vargas and is being positioned as the most accessible urban neighborhood.

It plans to pour in P50-billion for redevelopment, which commenced at the start of the year and which would be done in three phases.

Ortigas & Co.’s other projects are the 16-hectare Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan; the 10-hectare Circulo Verde in Kalye Industriya and the 10-hectare Capitol Commons near the Ortigas area.

In 2014, the SM Group and Ayala Land Inc. made their entry to the company by partnering with the two factions in the Ortigas family.