ALI wins FTI property with P24.33-B bid

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Land Inc. bagged the government’s Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) property in Taguig with an offer of P24.33 billion in a public bidding yesterday, beating two other giant property developers Robinson’s Land Inc. of the Gokongwei group and Andrew Tan’s Empire East.

Last year, the Ayala group also bagged the Aquino administration’s P2-billion Daang Hari South Luzon road deal, the first public-private partnership (PPP) for infrastructure project to be bid out.

During yesterday’s auction, only the three property firms out of seven interested parties submitted their bids in time for the 11:30 a.m. cut-off set by the government’s Privatization and Management Office (PMO).

Ayala’s bid has a net present value of P23.889 billion, twice the floor price of P10.2 billion while Robinson’s Land submitted the second highest bid at P14.66 billion. Empire East offered P11.2 billion for the property.

Ayala will pay P19.465 billion as upfront payment within 60 business days, with the balance to be settled within one year.

PMO Chief Karen Singson said they are happy with the results of the bidding.

“We are very happy. The upfront cash is something the government can take comfort with,” Singson said during the public bidding held at the Asian Institute of Management.

The bidding was originally scheduled for Aug. 8 but the PMO decided to move the date to Aug. 14 to give interested parties more time to prepare their offers for 74 hectares of the 108-hectare agro-industrial complex.

Property firms that purchased bid documents but did not submit bids are the Lopezes’ Rockwell Land Corp., the Sy family’s SM Land Inc., Andrew Gotianun’s Filinvest Land Inc. and Century Properties Group Inc., owned by the family of Jose Antonio.

The government tried but failed to bid out the FTI property in the past, with the Macapagal-Arroyo administration even lowering the floor price to P7 to P8 billion. One valuation pegged the value of the property at P12 billion.

The last attempt to auction FTI was in 2009 when private companies snubbed a public bidding for the property.

According to Singson, proceeds of the sale will go to the Department of Agrarian Reform (60 percent) and to the Department of Agriculture (40 percent).

The FTI agro-industrial complex is one the largest industrial complexes in Metro Manila and is currently home to more than 300 companies.

It provides industrial and commercial lots for medium-to-long term leases, and industrial buildings with standard-sized stalls for office, warehouse or small-scale processing operations.

With the sale, the government expects economic activities in Taguig City and nearby areas to flourish as employment increases and transport linkages in the complex improves.