Filinvest Land Inc. expects its capital expenditures next year be higher or just around the P4 billion it is spending this year while sales are expected to post a consistent growth rate of 10 percent to 15 percent in 2009 and 2010.

In a press briefing Thursday, FLI president Joseph Yap said sales have been consistently growing at 10 to 15 percent versus last year during the first half and they expect this trend to continue until next year.

“The year 2009 has so far proven to be a challenging year because of the global financial crisis. Fortunately for us, shelter is a basic need. Even in hard times, the dream of having a home does not decline,” Yap said.

He pointed out that “this is especially true for the OFW market which still considers buying a home for the family as a top priority. This is why we will maintain our focus on our core housing business while simultaneously introducing new products.”

Yap said they are looking at 2010 with guarded optimism and, while they do not expect any dramatic increases in sales, they also do not expect sales to slow down. “We expect to see reasonable
growth for the rest of 2009 and in 2010,” he added.

He noted that demand for residential projects continue to be spurred by overseas Filipino workers and, as long as this sector continues to show growth, it will have an impact on total demand in the housing market.

Yap said the firm’s capex will be funded both by internally generated funds as well as a planned retail bond offering which will start in the middle of October.

FLI plans to offer P3 billion worth of bonds with a greenshoe option for another P2 billion. The bulk of these bonds will have a maturity of five years although there will be a small tranche of three year notes.

Meanwhile, high-end developer and FLI parent company Filinvest Development Corporation has put up its first high-rise development project in the Bonifacio Global City called Beaufort.