Filinvest Land Inc. is planning to convert its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cyberzone Properties Inc. (CPI), into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Company.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FLI said the move has been approved by its Board of Directors.
“CPI is intended to be listed on the PSE in compliance with the minimum public ownership requirements under Philippine securities regulations and the Real Estate Investment Trust Act of 2009 and its implementing rules and regulations and under such terms and conditions as FLI’s Board of Directors may subsequently approve,” said FLI.
Filinvest is one of the pioneer providers of office space to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines and currently has 43 operating and under construction office buildings covering over 824,000 sqm of gross leasable area.
A certain number of operating office buildings, including buildings leased out to traditional and multinational BPO companies, will comprise the property portfolio for the REIT Company.
These office buildings are located in Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest City, Alabang and Filinvest Cyberzone Cebu in Cebu City.
Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest City is an 18.7 hectare PEZA-registered business park designed to cater primarily to BPO companies.
It is home to the Philippines’ largest district cooling system to date that helps reduce energy consumption, provides greater efficiency, lowers the initial capital investment, reduces carbon dioxide emissions and enhances real estate value by freeing up building space for other uses.
Filinvest’s BPO buildings have continued to be fully operational during the COVID-19 pandemic and CPI’s office rental revenues increased by 16 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2020 to P2.46 billion.
“We are looking forward to listing CPI as a REIT company because we believe that this will unlock the value of our office leasing business,” FLI President and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap said.
She added that, “Filinvest has a growing portfolio of recurring income projects and significant prime office properties in Alabang, Cebu and Clark to continue to grow this business. A REIT listing will enable acceleration of the growth of this business line.”