Robinsons

Robinsons is finally entering the Davao market. The building of its mall here was announced by Frederick Go, president of Robinsons Land Corp.

Long rumored after its landbanking in Davao, the Gokongwei group will be the third major mall developer to venture here after Henry Sy set up SM City Davao almost a decade ago. Ayala Land earlier entered into partnership with the Floriendo’s for the development of the latter’s 10 has. property infront of Redemptorist Church.

The R Mall would be located also at Bajada near the Water District. JP Laurel would thus become truly the mall street of the city with Gaisano Mall, Victoria Plaza, Ayala, Robinsons and Gateway dotting the stretch from the Chinese School to Lanang.

NCCC Mall has a monopoly on the other side of the city’s MacArthur Highway.

The mall project is preceded by three major Robinsons housing projects here. The first at Diversion Road Buhangin, the second infront of Lanang Golf & Country Club, and the third, recently approved by the City Council, is also along the Buhangin Diversion Road.

Property development remains as the top investment priority area in the city under the Investment Incentive Code. Its of no wonder, however, because property projects really make a killing.

Incidentally, the Gokongweis have good local partners in Davao in the Ed Bangayan group who are its Cebu Pacific General Agent and also part owners of Victoria Plaza and SM Davao Department Store.

(7:25 a.m.)

Not capital flight?

For the first six months of the year, Pinoy companies invested $1.8 billion abroad, compared with the whole year’s total direct foreign investment targets of $1.7 billion.

For the 2nd quarter alone, the total outflows amounted to $2.46 billion!

In the same quarter last year, there was net inflows of $594 million. In a sense, we lost a total of more than $3 billion in this three-month period alone, characterized as it was by the messy elections.

And yet, monetary authorities do not call this capital flight!

With the ZTE scandal, expect confidence in the country to plummet some more. Even the state insurance firm GSIS is now lining up to invest $1 billion abroad rather than in the super-regions of you-know-who.

(6:54 a.m.)