Alliance Global sets P150-B capex

MANILA, Philippines - Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding company of tycoon Andrew Tan, is pouring in more than P150 billion this year and in 2017 to fund the expansion of its various subsidiaries.

Bulk of the amount will go to property arm Megaworld Corp. AGI’s other business units include liquor firm Emperador Inc., Golden Arches Development Corp. (the operator of McDonald’s in the Philippines), and Resorts World Manila operator Travellers International Hotel Group Inc.

“We continue to be optimistic about what lies ahead. That is why we have kept an aggressive capex plan moving forward. In 2010 to 2015, we spent an aggregate of P270 billion for our expansion projects. We will spend more than half of that amount for 2016 and 2017 alone, proving our positive outlook for our business,” said King Sian, president of AGI.

Sian said Megaworld would continue to expand its office leasable portfolio with the aim of hitting 1.5 million square meters by 2020. This year alone, the company expects to have 730,000 sqm of office leasable area 

For its whisky business, Sian said Emperador is now present in 100 countries, further strengthening its position as the world leader in terms of volume.

 Travellers International will likewise continue to expand its portfolio, Sian said.

It is now working on the 10-storey Marriot West Wing annex, which will add 228 rooms to RWM’s target of over 4,000 keys.

The company is also constructing two internationally renowned hotel brands – Hilton Manila Hotel and Sheraton Hotel Manila plus the Maxims Hotel new wing.

AGI aims to bring its group-wide hotel room capacity to 12,000 keys by 2020 from the current 3,000.

The additional capacity will be coming mainly from its tourism-entertainment and gaming unit Travellers International and Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI).

GERI is undertaking two major tourism estate development projects in highly popular destinations: Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island, Aklan; and Twin Lakes in Metro Tagaytay.

Golden Arches, meanwhile, will open 400 new stores to grow its McDonald’s network to 900 branches after 2020.

AGI maintained its highly optimistic outlook over its long-term prospects following strong operating performance in 2015.

“We have already laid out the foundation and made significant investments across all our business segments, both here and abroad, in order to future-proof our growth,” Tan said.

 “Our group has really come a long way from what we were before. Five years ago, our real estate arm, Megaworld covered only five townships, all in Metro Manila. Now, we have 21 townships throughout the country, of which 12 are in key growth areas in the provinces,” Sian said.