MANILA, Philippines, June 20, 2014 – Leading real estate giant Megaworld has further expanded its development portfolio as it officially enters the tourism sector with the acquisition of majority stakes of Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), the country’s biggest tourism estate developer. The company now owns 80.4 percent of GERI.

With the majority acquisition of GERI, Megaworld has added around 3,000 hectares to its land bank and ownership of vast properties in Tagaytay, Alabang, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Boracay. Megaworld now has close to 4,000 hectares of land in its portfolio, cementing the company’s leadership as the Philippines’ real estate giant.

“Megaworld’s acquisition of GERI signals our official entry to the country’s tourism industry. We will be bringing the 25-year expertise of Megaworld in mixed-use developments which we call ‘townships’ to the projects of GERI,” says Dr. Andrew L. Tan, chairman and CEO, Megaworld.

Among GERI’s biggest projects include the 1,149-hectare Twin Lakes, a European-inspired masterplanned integrated tourism estate with its own vineyard on the rolling terrains of Tagaytay overlooking the famous Taal Lake. The estate will be home to themed residential villages, luxury condominiums, hotels and spa, a retirement community, schools, commercial and retail hubs as well as sports and leisure facilities.

Another ongoing major project of GERI is the 150-hectare Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island. Positioned to be the next hip, world-class side of Boracay, Boracay Newcoast will soon be home to four international hotels, a Santorini-inspired boutique hotel district, an Ibiza-inspired commercial district, a residential village, luxury condominiums and upscale villas. Boracay Newcoast occupies 14 percent of the entire Boracay Island and is surrounded by Fairways and Bluewater, the island’s first and only golf course.

On the boundaries of Carmona, Cavite and Binan, Laguna will rise Southwoods City, the next central business district south of Manila that is surrounded by a golf course. The 561-hectare development will be home to residential villages, residential condominiums, office towers, a mall, as well as commercial and retail centers.

The 170-hectare Sta. Barbara Heights in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo is a vast township that is rising beside the famous Sta. Barbara Golf Course, known as Asia’s oldest golf course. More than half of the development will be for residential villages while the rest will be allocated for office towers as well as commercial and retail strips connected to the new Iloilo International Airport.

“Megaworld will take an active role in the masterplanning and conceptualization of these townships. Just as what we have done for Megaworld projects, we will also incorporate our pioneering LIVE-WORK-PLAY-LEARN concepts and international inspirations into these developments with special focus on tourism,” explains Kevin L. Tan, chief strategy officer, Megaworld.

Aside from GERI, Megaworld wholly owns Suntrust Properties, Inc. and majority of Empire East Land Holdings, Inc.

The consolidation of all real estate businesses of Dr. Andrew L. Tan under the Megaworld brand enables the company to capitalize on real estate opportunities and to capture the expected growth momentum of its real estate affiliates.

Megaworld, the country’s pioneer of “LIVE-WORK-PLAY-LEARN” concept for mixed-use communities in the Philippines, has 10 townships all throughout the country covering around 300 hectares of land. This includes the 18.5-hectare Eastwood City, which is considered as the country’s first cyberpark; the 50-hectare McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio; the 25-hectare Newport City in Pasay City; the 5-hectare Forbes Town Center in Bonifacio Global City; the 28.8-hectare The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu; the 15.4-hectare Uptown Bonifacio in Bonifacio Global City; the 34.5-hectare McKinley West in Fort Bonifacio; the 12.3-hectare Woodside City in Pasig City; the 11-hectare Davao Park District in Davao City; and the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo.

During the past 25 years, Megaworld has emerged as the country’s No. 1 real estate organization. It has completed more than 320 residential and office buildings with a total area of around 5.6 million square meters. Currently, about 185 residential, office and hotel buildings with a total area of around 5.4 million square meters are under development.