Real estate giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is allotting ₱70 billion to ₱80 billion for capital expenditures (capex), with a greater focus on its leasing business for offices and malls, which is seen to propel 2026 into another banner year as the residential market remains soft.

During the firm’s analysts and media briefings, ALI President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy said this will ensure that the company generates earnings growth ahead of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) while delivering higher returns for shareholders.

ALI Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jose Eduardo A. Quimpo II said 38 percent of capex this year is earmarked for the firm’s leasing projects, while the balance will be spent on residential projects as well as the payment of remaining land acquisition costs.

“The reality is that GDP growth is projected to stay below five percent and residential supply in Metro Manila remains elevated.”

“But, we are not waiting for the tide to turn. We are leaning into the parts of the portfolio that grow more highly while keeping our property development business stable and capital efficient,” Dy noted.

With this in mind, she said, “We will accelerate our leasing growth. The biggest driver of earnings growth in 2026 will be leasing. We will start with existing assets. Many of our renovated malls and hotels are now operational, and the focus shifts to consumer delight and operational excellence.”

“After completing the renovation of five key assets in 2025, our focus is now monetizing these upgrades, and we project a 10- to 20-percent rate uplift from these newly renovated properties,” Dy added.

The reinvention of ALI’s flagship malls will be completed by the end of June 2026. By the middle of this year, with the reopening of Glorietta and Greenbelt, and following the completion of Ayala Center Cebu and TriNoma in December 2025, ALI expects these renovations to generate a 15- to 20-percent uplift in rent.

“Alongside extracting value from recently completed assets, we will continue expanding the leasing platform. Leasing will account for a larger share of capital deployment as we scale malls, offices, and hospitality within our estates,” she said.

In 2026, ALI will open over 200,000 square meters (sqm) of new retail gross leasable area (GLA), the largest single-year addition in its history. This started with the opening of Ayala Malls Arca South last week, and ALI will also open over 70,000 sqm of new office space, including in Evo City and Arca South.

ALI has also signed three new major leases with large multinational firms in Quezon City and Cebu province totaling 82,000 sqm, while its Mandarin Oriental hotel will reopen in the fourth quarter, adding another 276 rooms to the firm’s hotel portfolio.

Meanwhile, ALI is scaling its cold storage business, with the aim of doubling current capacity over the next few years.

“These represent meaningful steps in recurring income that will build over the next several years,” Dy said.

ALI also intends to keep its residential business stable but will be more disciplined in property development despite market headwinds.

“Our objective is to keep it stable as we lean in on the strength of our domestic and international sales teams, and by focusing on projects where we have high conviction in value proposition and sales momentum. This approach allows us to protect margins and ensure we maintain our market leadership,” she said.

ALI has ₱30 billion worth of new launches scheduled for 2026, and it also has a launch pipeline that “we can move on as we see market windows open. This gives us flexibility to scale quickly as the demand supply dynamics improve.”

Meanwhile, Quimpo said ALI plans to raise at least ₱40 billion from the capital markets, with ₱25 billion to be used to refinance maturities this year, while the remaining ₱15 billion will be for debt liability management.

He explained that debt liability management occurs when “we find that there is an opportunity to refinance with better interest rates, we will do that.”

The ₱40 billion to be raised will come from a planned shelf registration worth ₱50 billion, which ALI will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) soon.