Filinvest Development Corp., the investment arm of the Gotianun Group, is setting a ₱24-billion capital expenditure (capex) budget for 2024, 20 percent more than the ₱20 billion allotted in 2023, so it can achieve a 20-percent growth for another record year.
In a press briefing, FDC Chief Finance Officer and Treasurer Ven Christian Guce said, “47 percent of that will go into the expansion projects of our real estate. These are projects that are already ongoing, just completing.”
“And then, we’re looking at 40 percent will go into the expansion of the different portfolios of our segments, like hotel, investment into renewables, investments into our core power business.
“And then, 10 percent will go into digitalization and our investments into the shared services organization, which is really going to drive operational efficiencies group-wide,” he added.
Meanwhile, FDC President and CEO Rhoda A. Huang said the company’s performance is currently tracking its 20-percent annual growth target, and “anything that’s higher than the current yield from the previous year is always a record.”
“This is going to be a consumption-led growth,” she said, noting that there will be one to two cuts in United States (US) interest rates and two cuts in domestic interest rates, plus a reduction in reserve requirements that will release cash into the banking system, which could be used to fuel growth.
Huang added that, “We believe, just given the age, the demographics of the current environment, that we will look at the consumption-led growth for the country.”
She said the pillars for FDC’s growth will be its real estate business because, even though it’s soft in the National Capital Region (NCR), “it’s strong actually nationwide. Other than NCR, there is demand actually for housing.”
The group’s banking unit, East West Banking Corp. (EastWest Bank) is also another pillar of growth as it is a consumer-driven bank. The group’s power and water businesses are also seen to pick up once summer sets in, when the heat drives consumers to use more water and electricity to cool down.
Meanwhile, for its sugar milling business, Huang said, “Sugar prices now are boding well for the business. So far, we’re on track.”
For its hospitality business, Filinvest is also expanding by introducing new brands and putting up new hotels as well as seeing strong performance in its hotel’s food and beverage outlets.