China firm seeks Ayala help for tile factory site

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, is in talks with a huge Chinese company that wants to set up a tile hub in the Philippines, a move that reflects the deepening relations between China and the Philippines.

The conglomerate, through its property developer Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), is helping the Chinese tile giant expand in the Philippines.

Specifically, ALI is now in the process of identifying a site which the Chinese company would use to set up a factory in the Philippines.

“ALI is helping them look for a site for their factory. If ever, they will be lessee’s of ALI. The exact site has not been identified,” a source said.

However, the source said the site would be outside Metro Manila given the size and scale that the Chinese tile company may require.

At present, the conglomerate is already into tile distribution with another company, China’s Nenking Group for which they opened a tile showroom in Glorietta.

The Nenking Group is a Chinese conglomerate that is into a wide array of services including real estate, property management, financial, sports, pharmaceuticals, investment abroad and trade purchases.

President Duterte’s pivot to China and the trade war between China and the US have encouraged China to move to the Philippines, experts said.

Ayala Corp.. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala was also quoted by Bloomberg as saying that with the tensions that have occurred, Southeast Asia has been an increasing beneficiary of the changes that have taken place.

Even without the trade tensions, experts believe that the rosy relations between Beijing and Manila, as seen in the recent state visit of President Xi Jinping – which marks the first visit by a Chinese president in 13 years – are benefitting local companies.

In a briefing on Friday, real estate services company Santos Knight Frank said the Philippines woulf see more Chinese investments to the country.

“The visit of President Xi Jinping this week ushers in a new wave of investments from China as the Philippines strengthens its unique position in the Belt and Road Initiatives,” said Rick Santos, chairman of Santos Knight Frank.

“New entrants from China have taken up as much as 170,000 square meters in the first nine months, equivalent to a third of  Metro Manila’s annual take up. New entrants have driven up residential prices in districts such as the Bay Area where prices per square meter are the highest today in Metro Manila,” Santos said.

Across the different business districts, Santos Knight Frank said prices have already gone up 10 to 15 percent.