DMCI Holdings Inc. of the Consunji Group is in talks with NTT DoCoMo of Japan for a possible joint venture in property development in the Philippines.
DMCI Holdings president Isidro Consunji said in an interview NTT DoComo was interested in taking a 30 percent interest in the development of an office and a residential project within the company’s 7,000-square meter property along Pasong Tamo, Makati.
This will be the first real estate venture of NTT DoCoMo in the Philippines, after investing in telecommunications giant PLDT Inc.
Consunji said NTT DoCoMo was attracted to the Philippines because of its familiarity with the country.
DMCI, meanwhile, is open to Japanese investors because of its good experience with other Japanese companies, including Marubeni Corp., one of its partners in Maynilad Water Services Inc.
DMCI plans build two 30-story buildings, one for high-end residential and one for office with a total sales value of P8 billion.
Consunji said NTT DoCoMo, while predominantly a telecommunications company in Japan, is also the seventh largest real estate firm in Japan.
Meanwhile, DMCI Holdings reported that net income for the first quarter of the year jumped 22 percent to P3.7 billion from P3 billion recorded in the same period a year ago, driven by the strong performance of its coal and power businesses.
Excluding a one-time gain of P111 million in 2016 for the partial sale of its stake in Subic Water, core net income improved 26 percent from P2.9 billion in the prior-year quarter.
“2017 will be a better year for us. We expect double-digit growth from our energy and real estate companies, and modest growth from construction and nickel mining” Consunji said.
Semirara Mining and Power Corp. posted a net income of P4.42 billion in the first three months of the year, up 52 percent and its highest quarterly income to date.
Semirara attributed the higher income to the 24-percent increase in coal sales volume an the 41-percent rise in the average of coal prices.