Developer Shang Properties Inc, the real-estate arm of the Kuok Group, said despite the many in the coming year, they remained bullish on their prospects in the real-estate industry.

“We are very optimistic about our prospects in the Philippine market,” said Andres Bautista, president and chief executive officer of Shang Properties Inc. He added that compared to the Philippines’ near neighbors, real-estate prices in the country remain relatively low.

However, the company executive noted that they are beginning to feel the effects of high inflation and the increasing cost of construction, partly because of the peso’s depreciation that has driven up the import prices of essential materials such cement and steel.

As a result, Shang Properties is considering on hiking the unit prices of its P5-billion St. Francis Shangri-La Place residential condominiums next month by 3 percent to 5 percent.

Other major developers are also planning or have already hiked prices, including Eton Properties Philippines, Anchor Land Holdings and Megaworld Corp.

He said they are still experiencing healthy sales with the St. Francis Shangri-La Place, expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2009, having sold about 76 percent of units.

According to the Shang Properties Inc., sales were mostly driven by the local market, accounting for “easily” 60 percent of sales with the rest are either foreign buyers or “high-end” overseas Filipino workers.

As further proof of their positive market outlook, Bautista said their newest project, a six-star hotel and residences development in Fort Bonifacio will be breaking ground next month with the hotel component to be called Shang at the Fort. No other details can be given about the project, except that it will be completed by 2011.

He also disclosed an expansion of the Shangri-La Plaza mall in Ortigas as well as a potential development that they are looking at in Cebu adjacent to the Shangri-La Mactan, which he said is still in the “planning phase.”

Shang Properties is a listed company engaged in the ownership, development, and management of real-estate properties in the Philippines.

Its projects include the St. Francis Shangri-La Place and Shang Grand Tower. The company also has significant interests in Shangri-La Plaza Corp. which owns and operates the Shangri-La Plaza Shopping Complex, Edsa Parking Services Inc., EPHI Logistics Holdings Inc. and KSA Realty Corp.

Global business boosts ABS-CBN profits

THE absence of revenues from political ads notwithstanding, listed multimedia conglomerate, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. (ABS-CBN), said its net income from January to May this year grew 13 percent. Recurring profit, which excludes one-time gains or losses, rose to P598 million from P520 million.

Shang keeps bullish prospects for sector

Developer Shang Properties Inc, the real-estate arm of the Kuok Group, said despite the many in the coming year, they remained bullish on their prospects in the real-estate industry.

NTC to adopt Europe digital TV standard

DIGITAL TV broadcasts in the Philippines may soon be realized. This, as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is reportedly considering to formally adopt Europe’s Digital Video Broadcast Handheld or DVB-H as the country’s preferred platform for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) standard.

A FILIPINA businesswoman and a foreign national allegedly engaged in the sale and distribution of counterfeit Louis Vuitton products at a popular mall in Binondo, Manila were lodged yesterday with criminal charges in a Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC).

Software makes HRD work easier

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There’s a new version of the highly popular PDF software, version 9 of the Adobe Acrobat, that is expected to transform how the networked world “create and share electronic documents.”

Gaming firm allots P20M for expansion

LISTED gaming firm Pacific Online System Corp. (POSC) is spending P20 million to fund its unit’s rollout of 50 lotto terminals in the next 18 months.

Not Business as Usual: Poster boy

WHICH is a better alternative?

On one hand, there’s the Greenpeace Internet-based initiative asking environmentalists to write Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. to stop power subsidiary, Panay Power Corp., from using coal. Greenpeace even provides a uniform letter, addressed to nobody in particular at Metrobank, with a just “Dear Metrobank” as salutation.