CapitaLand’s wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has boosted its leading position in the Philippines by entering a strategic alliance with one of the country’s top real estate developers, Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), to manage 1,600 units by 2022. Under the alliance, both parties will seek properties for CLI to develop into serviced residences to be managed by Ascott.
Ascott and CLI have signed management contracts for their first four properties offering over 800 units in the prime business districts of Bacolod, Cebu City and Davao City. Citadines Bacolod City, Citadines Cebu City, Citadines Paragon Davao, and lyf Cebu City, will open from 2019 to 2021. Citadines Bacolod City, the latest property sealed under the partnership, marks Ascott’s entry into Bacolod. Separately, Ascott also made its foray into Quezon City, Metro Manila’s largest city, by scoring a management contract with another property owner for Citadines Roces Quezon City, which will open in 2023. The two new contracts in Bacolod and Quezon City will increase Ascott’s portfolio in the Philippines by 27% year-on-year to over 4,300 units.
Mr Kevin Goh, Chief Executive Officer, The Ascott Limited, said: “Ascott’s alliance with CLI in the Philippines builds on the strategic partnerships we have forged around the world to accelerate Ascott’s growth globally. Leveraging Ascott’s global network and strong hospitality expertise, as well as CLI’s well-established reputation in the Philippines, the partnership will allow us to gain access to a pipeline of quality projects in the country. This will fast-track our expansion and strengthen Ascott’s leadership position as the largest international hospitality player in the Philippines. Having leading industry players choose to partner Ascott speaks volume of the value we bring to our partners. We are confident that Ascott will exceed 80,000 units in 2018 and expand to 160,000 units worldwide by 2023.”
In a world’s first, International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ascott to pioneer a green building certification for serviced residences, as part of IFC’s Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) system. Ascott Makati in the Philippines is set to be the first serviced residence to receive this EDGE certification. Under the MoU, Ascott and IFC will also jointly source for properties to be developed to the EDGE’s new serviced residence green standards, with potential financial support from IFC, as well as management services provided by Ascott.
Mr Goh said: “We are taking the lead to set a new international green benchmark given Ascott’s reputation and expertise in managing award-winning serviced residences globally for over 30 years. With our newly renovated Ascott Makati set to be awarded the world’s first green building certification for serviced residences, it is a recognition of the enhanced value we bring to property owners through sustainable practices, such as efforts to save energy and water. It will pave the way for more properties to come onboard this new international green certification developed specifically for the serviced residence industry. It also marks the beginning of Ascott’s partnership with IFC to deepen exchange of knowledge and research on sustainable design of serviced residences in developing regions such as Asia Pacific, Indochina and Africa. We look forward to tapping IFC’s international network and funding to source for more business opportunities in these emerging markets where Ascott can contribute our strong expertise in hospitality management.”
Ms Rana Karadsheh, IFC Country Manager for Singapore said: “We are seeing strong interest from investors and developers in fulfilling the increasing demand for eco-friendly and resource-efficient buildings, and are excited to do our initial launch in the Philippines, while looking to replicate this in other emerging markets. IFC’s EDGE green building certification offers a cost-efficient way of bringing green features into building design. As one of the world’s leading international serviced residence operators, Ascott is a key partner to pioneer the EDGE green building certification for serviced residences as we work together to promote the adoption of sustainable practices around the world.”
In the Philippines, Ascott currently has 20 properties offering over 4,300 units across key cities in Metro Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo. These include 13 properties that are slated to open from 2018 to 2023. Citadines Bay City Manila will open this year, followed by Citadines Amigo Iloilo and Citadines Cebu City in 2019. Ascott DD Meridian Park Manila, Citadines Bacolod City, Citadines Paragon Davao, Somerset Gorordo Cebu, Somerset Valero Makati, Somerset Salcedo Village Makati, and lyf Cebu City will open in 2021. Meanwhile, Citadines Greenhills Manila is targeted to open in 2022 whereas Citadines Benavidez Makati and Citadines Roces Quezon City will open in 2023.
Demand for quality accommodation in the Philippines is on the up with its rising middle-class population and its growing attractiveness as an investment and tourism destination. In 2017, 6.6 million tourists visited the Philippines, an increase of 11% from 20162. As one of the top economies in Southeast Asia, the Philippines has embarked on a mega infrastructure programme to drive economic growth and foreign investment. Some of the major projects underway include the Metro Manila Subway, the Luzon Spine Expressway Network, the Metro Manila Logistics Network and Metro Cebu Expressway3.
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