Company eyes investors in Cebu for agriculture land in Canada

Sun.Star Cebu <> Monday, November 17, 2008

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

A CANADIAN company is optimistic its latest property development project in Alberta, Canada will sell well in the Philippines and elsewhere due to high demand for housing in the area.

Edgeworth Properties Inc. (EPI)—which has offices in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, and Taiwan—expects a high take-up of its latest project, Jasper Ridge Estates 3.

Flora Naces-Mateo, EPI resident representative for the Philippines, said the company’s seven previous projects were sold out to different investors across Asia.

As EPI will launch Jasper Ridge Estates 3 today, Naces-Mateo is inviting individuals or groups in Cebu to diversify their investment portfolio and consider investing in the company’s real estate property in Alberta, Canada.

EPI is a wholly owned subsidiary and the property acquisition arm of Edgeworth Ventures Inc. of Nevada, USA. It is engaged in the purchase of Canadian raw land—basically agricultural land—that are “on the path of urban growth.”

The company subdivides these properties into “marketable parcels” and sells them throughout Asia.

Naces-Mateo said that the company adds value to the land by converting the raw land into usable properties fit for residential use through the construction of infrastructure, such as roads and drainage systems.

Rezoning

While waiting for the rezoning of the area, which could take at least two years, the land is divided into small units and marketed to potential Asian buyers who will get a deed and a registered title upon investment.

At the completion of the rezoning, the investor has the option to sell the property back to EPI and use the money to invest in another EPI property.

This purchase-back scheme, whose profits are subject to tax, allows the investor to exit within a given period, upon rezoning.

Naces-Mateo said that EPI’s properties are located in Alberta, Canada where the oil sands are. She added that EPI projects create jobs, encourages inter-provincial migration and raises the demand for housing.

EPI’s latest property, the third phase of Jasper Ridge, is a 71 acre of raw land in Hinton town, Alberta. Its previous two phases, covering a total area of 186 acres, have already been sold out.

“Since we started pre-selling it recently, about one-third of the land has been sold already. Conservatively, we are expecting December, at the latest, for all the units to be sold out,” Naces-Mateo said.

She added that EPI continues to educate potential investors about the value of investing in raw land in a growing economy like Canada since development or land banking is something new to the Philippines.

Since EPI put up their office in Cebu in 2006, sales and marketing manager Francies Fulache said that their revenues in the Philippines have been climbing, although the country still lags behind Singapore where many investors are already aware of EPI’s type of investment.

He added that while Canada is not immune to the global financial crunch that was triggered by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, he believes that the demand for oil will continue to grow and contribute to Canada’s economy.

He said EPI is planning to open an office in Manila soon to reach out to more investors.

Filed under: Business , Edgeworth Properties Inc.