Retirement township to rise in Pampanga
By Dennis D. Estopace
Reporter

A TOWNSHIP for retirees and their families is expected to rise in Porac, Pampanga, beginning next year.
       Banking on what he says is a booming retirement industry in Asia the Philippines must catch on, investment banker Noel S. Gonzales revealed he has formed a joint-venture company to transform an 800-hectare property as a haven for foreigners and Filipinos 40 years old and above.
       “We’re bullish about the national retirement industry that we ourselves are jump-starting this project,” Gonzales told participants of the first Real Estate Entrepreneurship program held at the Asian Institute of Management recently.
       Gonzales later told reporters there is already a masterplan for residential, commercial and leisure units. The property and the plan, he said, would be managed by HPI & LLL Holdings Inc., a joint venture firm formed with his Corporate Holdings Group of Companies and LLL Holdings Inc.
       “The project would begin simultaneously with the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway construction next year,” the chief executive of Corporate Holdings said on Monday.
       Gonzales explained the planned expressway aimed at connecting three Central Luzon provinces would have an interchange onto the property.
       He added that the joint-venture company would shell out portions of the property to developers who are expected to build—aside from houses—a shopping mall, a school, a golf course, a hospital and ecological tourism sites.
       He added that aside from equity sharing, his company is exploring “other investment methods” for the share in revenues.
       Gonzales estimates the joint-venture company would spend between P20 billion and P30 billion to complete the project in a decade.
       When asked how this money would be raised, he told reporters: “That’s my forte.”
       Gonzales spoke at the five-day AIM training on the need for the country to build a national retirement industry, in view of the growing number of retirees from Japan, Korea, China, the United States, Canada and Europe.
       Citing data from the Philippine Retirement Authority, Gonzales said retirees 40 years old and above would number 869.1 million after nine years, forming a US$40-billion market.
       “Assuming that we just attract 10 percent of this total, they would still represent a group of people paying $25,000 each for retirement visa and spending $1,000 a month every year until 2015,” Gonzales said.
       A Philippine retirement visa was previously sold by the PRA at US$75,000 but the fee was slashed by Gen. Edgar B. Aglipay, PNP (Ret.) when he was appointed to lead the 21-year-old government agency.
       The Special Resident Visitor’s Visa allows the holder to stay in the Philippines for a year from date of arrival and enjoy perks given by the Board of Investments-led agency.
       Gonzales said the cumulative earnings for the country is expected to hit $41.8 billion due to foreign currency spending by these retirees.
       Hence, Gonzales is leading a private sector initiative that he said aims to help other investors to cash in on the retirement industry.
       This initiative would culminate in a summit on July 3 unveiling a masterplan for a national retirement industry.