ALI keen to consolidate ownership of Trinoma

MANILA, Philippines - Property powerhouse Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is still keen on buying out the remaining shareholders of North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp. (NTDCC) as it intends to raise further its ownership of the Trinoma commercial center in Quezon City.

ALI chief finance officer Jimmy Ysmael told The STAR that the property unit of the country’s oldest conglomerate is still inclined to buy more shares after already spending about P2 billion over the past three months to bolster its shareholdings in NTDCC.

“Yes we remain interested in further increasing our stake in Trinoma should the remaining shareholders decide to sell,” Ysmael said.

Ysmael said further possible acquisition of shares in NTDCC would be in line with ALI’s thrust of expanding its leasing business.

“This is consistent with our strategy of increasing our recurring income base,” he said.

ALI to date owns 73.24 percent interest in NTDCC, owner and operator of the Trinoma commercial center.

Other significant NTDCC shareholders are Ramcar Inc. with 14.26 percent interest and Lafayette Holdings Inc. with 12.50 percent interest.

ALI began beefing up its ownership in NTDCC starting in December last year. 

The property giant has already bought out all equity interest held by Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp., the Ramos family’s investment holding firm, in NTDCC as well those of Allante Realty and Development Corp. and DBH, Inc.

From its 49.29 percent shareholdings in NTDCC in early December last year, ALI has already spent a total of P1.91 billion to hike its stake in Trinoma commercial center to 73.24 percent.

Trinoma is one of the largest and busiest shopping centers in Quezon City. It opened in 2007 and generates an estimated foot traffic of 200,000 daily.

Aside from Trinoma, ALI is also behind large shopping malls like Greenbelt, Glorietta, Alabang Town Center, and Market Market.

ALI is looking to further boost its retail portfolio as part of the company’s vision 2020 program by putting up a slew of new shopping centers across the country in the next five years.

“There will be a lot of new shopping center developments which is really aligned with our 2020 vision where we intend to expand the portfolio of shopping centers,” Ysmael said in an earlier interview.

For its mall development this year, ALI plans to complete seven new medium-sized shopping centers that would have total gross leasable area (GLA) of 147,000 square meters, while new malls are expected to offer 497,000 square meters of leasable space.