CLI spent IPO funds to build up landbank

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Landmasters Inc. has fully used up its initial public offering (IPO) proceeds as it strategically builds up its landbank in Visayas and Mindanao, the firm told the stock exchange yesterday.

In a disclosure, CLI said around 70 percent of the IPO funds were spent to acquire land, allowing the developer to build up its landbank to 976,302 sqm.

It said it acquired land in strategic areas where it is now aggressively building up new projects.

The listed developer said 41 percent of its landbank is in Mindanao; 33 percent in the Visayas; and 26 percent in Cebu.

“Cebu Landmasters is committed to the fast turnaround strategy of the company," company CEO Jose Soberano III said yesterday.

"We have developed 420,573 sqm. of our landbank after IPO. We now have 52 projects in various developments and we’ve already expanded to eight key cities in VisMin," he said.

CLI debuted on the Philippine Stock Exchange on June 2, 2017 after raising P2.15 billion fresh capital from investors.

It sold 430 million shares at P5 per share, the proceeds of which were intended to boost growth through expansion in new areas.

After the IPO, CLI bought a total of 767,917 sqm of land in Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro and added inventory in new locations in Bohol, Bacolod and Iloilo.

This increased the developer’s landbank to 976,302 sqm after using 420,573 sqm in various vertical and horizontal projects.

CLI's 52 projects currently in various stages of development are located across the key cities including Cebu, Mandaue, CDO, Davao, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo and Bohol.

The developer recently launched the P3.6 billion Astra Centre, its second mixed-use property strategically located on a 1.2-hectare lot at the heart of AS Fortuna Street in Mandaue City, Cebu.

The project will have residential towers, modern office spaces, an upscale boutique mall and world-class hotel for millennials, Radisson RED, which is also the first in the Philippines.

Phase 1 of the development will be finished in fourth quarter of 2021.

CLI will soon launch another mixed-use property and a business district in Davao City.

Shares of the company were unchanged at P4.38 apiece in early trading Wednesday.