Author: Herbert WILLKOMM

A Brown Company joins in the Lenten observance of the Universal Catholic Church with the Way of the Cross. Led by 14 employees from ABCI and ABERDI, more than 30 employees and agency partners joined in the 14-station devotion at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, Xavier Estates, on April 13, 2022, Holy Wednesday.

The Way of the Cross is a Catholic devotion commemorating the last day of Jesus Christ on Earth as a man. The devotion consists of 14 stations where each honors specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. 

A Brown Family welcomes the Christmas Season with the blessing & lighting of the Advent Wreath during the Virtual Employees’ Convocation led by the ABCI Admin & Purchasing Department last November 29, 2021, Monday. The ABCI Family prayed the Novena for the blessing of the wreath followed by the lighting of the first candle.

For the Roman Catholics, during the four Sundays of Advent during mass, we are illuminated with candles as we light Advent wreaths of evergreen, shaped in a perfect circle to symbolize God’s eternity.

The four Sundays preceding Christmas, which is when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, are recognized for four virtues. The candles on the Advent wreath symbolize hope, love, joy and peace. The candles are lit in that order.

A BROWN Co., Inc.’s wholly owned unit Irradiation Solutions, Inc. (ISI) is now registered by the Board of Investments (BoI) as a new operator of essential services in relation to its Tanay Multipurpose Irradiation Facility project, A Brown said in a disclosure to the exchange on Thursday.

ISI is developing what is said to be the first commercial E-Beam (electron beam) irradiation facility in the country to serve the medical and food industries.

“The E-Beam technology is used in more than 60 countries and is considered the most economical alternative among available commercial sterilization methods,” A Brown said.

Now BoI-registered, ISI will be eligible to avail certain incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Enterprises Act and the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987 as long as it will observe by the provisions of both laws.

A Brown told BusinessWorld last month that the Tanay Commercial E-Beam Facility is expected to be completed by 2023. It may accommodate a volume of up to 20,000 tons yearly.

The P600-million facility will be used to sterilize medical masks, dressings, syringes, surgical staplers, and other single-use medical devices. It will also provide commercial irradiation services to agricultural and fishery products to improve their quality.

“This will enable local products, fruits, and seafood to be of export quality and gain wider access to international markets,” the company said.

A Brown said some 10 agricultural and medical companies have already expressed interest in the facility.

On Thursday, A Brown shares at the stock exchange went up by 2.41% or two centavos to close at 85 centavos apiece. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

A BROWN Co., Inc. is looking at developing a master-planned community in Tanay, Rizal province, which will be home to a residential estate, a themed restaurant, a hotel, and a condominium.

The company aims to recreate the concept it had with its mixed-use community in Northern Mindanao.   

“Our focus has always been on properties that underscore healthy, environment-friendly and low dense communities with a focus on [the] city, mountainside, agricultural, golf and sea resort, and lifestyle developments,” A Brown President and Chief Executive Officer Robertino E. Pizarro said in a statement on Tuesday.

Its Rizal property is said to have a view of Laguna Lake and the Sierra Madre mountain range.

A Brown said there will also be 15-hectare property in the area of its Rizal project that will cater to economic and socialized housing, featuring commercial spaces.

“We look to continue to deliver excellent value for money developments alongside our core competence of building quality homes and pioneering real estate concepts,” Mr. Pizarro said.

The community will be one of the projects that will be funded by the sale of its additional preferred shares.

A Brown is offering 10 million preferred shares for P100 apiece, with an overallotment option of up to five million preferred shares. The company may raise up to P1.5 billion, which will be used for the development of its projects, land banking activities, and for the funding requirements of its wholly owned subsidiary, Irradiation Solutions, Inc.

Despite the pandemic, A Brown said it logged a record P1.5 billion in property reservation sales in 2020, up from the P1 billion logged in the previous year.

“As we venture outside Mindanao, we will continue to pursue real estate products that are built for the long term — providing security, safety, healthy environments to create happy communities,” said Mr. Pizarro.

Shares of A Brown at the stock market inched up by 1.11% or one centavo on Tuesday, closing at 91 centavos each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Listed firm A. Brown Co. Inc. said its boutique property development unit will replicate its Mindanao mixed-use development in its property in Tanay, Rizal as the company observed a shift in market demand towards horizontal developments.

The company said will have mixed-use development in its Tanay property, which will have an upscale residential estate, a themed restaurant, a hotel and a condominium. Another 15-hectare property in the area is designated for the economic and socialized housing with a commercial space frontage, the company said. 

The company said its property is surrounded by the natural habitat of century-old trees and has a view of Laguna Lake and the Sierra Madre mountain range. 

“Our focus has always been on properties that underscore healthy, environment-friendly and low dense communities with a focus on city, mountainside, agricultural, golf and sea resort, and lifestyle developments,” Robertino E. Pizarro, the company’s president and CEO, said. 

“We look to continue to deliver excellent value for money developments alongside our core competence of building quality homes and pioneering real estate concepts,” Pizarro said. 

“As we venture outside Mindanao, we will continue to pursue real estate products that are built for the long term – providing security, safety, healthy environments to create happy communities,” he said. 

The company claimed it pioneered the master planned mixed-use community concept in Northern Mindanao and is now looking to further develop more properties that follow the concept of healthy, environment-friendly and low dense communities.

The boutique developer has a land bank of 293 hectares in good locations and is well-positioned to take advantage of the demand for its trending properties.

Last year, the company posted a record P1.5 billion in reservation sales last year compared the P1 billion it recorded the previous year. 

Property consultant Santos Knight Frank said pandemic has brought significant positive growth to the supply of the house and lot market in Cagayan De Oro, the site of the company’s previous development.

Although the growth slowed down in 2020 by 30 percent to 508 new units in 2020 from 726 new units in 2019, the market supply grew by an additional 252 percent as of July 2021, prompting developers like A. Brown to pursue further development for its projects.

The company is currently offering its preferred shares next month. It already applied to amend its articles of incorporation to have an authorized capital stock of P3.3 billion, divided into 3.25 billion common shares and 50 million in preferred shares both at a par value of P1 apiece. 

PNB Capital and Investment Corp. was appointed as its sole issue manager, lead underwriter and sole bookrunner.

VG Cabuag

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