Philippine Billionaire Manuel Villar Turns Memorial Park Developer Into Prime Property Builder

By Ian Sayson (Forbes)

Property tycoon Manuel Villar is turning his memorial park developer, Golden MV Holdings, into an upscale property builder with the injection of 400 hectares (4 million square meters) of prime real estate.

Golden MV—the Philippines’ most valuable listed real estate company with a market value of about 1 trillion pesos ($19 billion)—will then become the main developer of Villar City, a sprawling upscale residential and commercial enclave the tycoon is developing across a 3,500-hectare property development in southern Metro Manila.

Under the deal, Golden MV said it will acquire the plots of land for 5.2 billion pesos from Villar’s privately held companies. Villar City—which encompasses 15 cities and towns including parts of Cavite province—is envisioned to become a residential and leisure hub with two golf courses, an events and sporting arena, and an integrated entertainment complex.

Golden MV is acquiring the plots of land at about 1,300 pesos per square meter, below the prevailing market value. Residential lot prices at Villar City range from 100,000 pesos per square meter to as much as 200,000 pesos, according to Makati-based LeeChiu Property Consultants. Commercial lots in the area are priced above 400,000 peseos per square meter, according to property website Lamudi.

Villar—a former politician who built his wealth developing homes for middle-income consumers—has interests in retail, shopping malls, cafes, broadcasting and gaming. With a real-time net worth of over $14 billion, he draws bulk of his wealth from Golden MV.

Besides his interests in other listed entities—such as shopping mall operator Vistamalls, property landlord VistaREIT, home improvement chain AllHome, supermarket chain AllDay Marts and Premiere Island Power REIT—Villar has been pivoting to new businesses in recent years, including free-to-air TV and restaurants.

Source: Forbes