MREIT to bulk up assets with Uptown BGC OFFICES

MREIT, Inc., the REIT company of township developer Megaworld, is planning to strengthen its assets portfolio when Megaworld injects additional office and commercial assets from another premier township, Uptown Bonifacio, within the next two years.

MREIT President and CEO Kevin Andrew L. Tan revealed that after Megaworld injects around 100,000 square meters of prime office assets from Eastwood City, McKinley Hill, and Iloilo Business Park by end of 2022, the sponsor company will also be injecting some of its prime office and commercial assets in Uptown Bonifacio into MREIT by 2023.

This year alone, Uptown Bonifacio has close to 331,300 square meters of completed office and commercial projects. Another 70,000 square meters of prime office spaces are set to be completed in three years.

“These prime office and commercial assets can be potentially injected into MREIT. With BGC having the highest office rental rates among major business districts in the country, these fresh assets can truly bulk up MREIT’s portfolio, increase its rental revenues, and of course, grow the distribution yields for our investors,” says Tan.

MREIT’s initial portfolio consists of 10 prime office buildings covering around 224,431 square meters in Eastwood City, McKinley Hill, and Iloilo Business Park – three of the 27 townships developed by Megaworld.

These township locations have been popular among the biggest BPO companies operating in the Philippines.

“So far, we have poured in an estimated 150-billion pesos into these three townships in over a decade that has translated into more than 130,000 jobs in IT and BPO, retail, hotel and tourism, construction, and in various industries that form part of our townships,” reveals Tan, during his speech at MREIT’s Listing Ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Uptown Bonifacio’s office properties, likewise, are home to some of the biggest names in the IT and BPO industries. Four of its office towers in this township are directly connected to the podium of Uptown Mall.

A new tower, Worldwide Plaza, will be the future headquarters of the Philippine Global Service Center of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., the leading global banking and financial services provider. The 25-storey, built-to-suit office tower has been touted as the ‘largest single office leasing transaction in Philippine real estate industry in terms of total space leased to a single company and transaction value’ in 2018.

“Once all of the seven office towers in Uptown Bonifacio are completed, the township will have the biggest office portfolio among our 27 township developments. We look forward to having some of these assets become part of MREIT,” adds Tan.

MREIT’s landmark listing at the PSE marks the last Philippine REIT to be listed at the local bourse this year.

“Today, we witness yet another affirmation of the power of REITs in mobilizing funds for our economy’s development and opening doors for small investors to participate in the capital market,” says Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.

“Megaworld REIT promises to be the country’s fastest-growing REIT. I am optimistic that the company can achieve this given its unmatched track record in property development. Its credible reputation provides Megaworld a strong springboard for this public offering,” Dominguez adds.