By Jenniffer B. Austria

Foreign fund manager Invesco Hong Kong Ltd. has increased its stake in property developer Filinvest Land Inc. after acquiring more shares in the local stock market.

Filinvest Land said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange that Invesco, one of the foreign funds that bought the property company?s shares during a follow-on offering in 2007, now owns 7.33 percent.

Invesco has been acquiring Filinvest Land shares in the stock market since the start of the year after the share price of the property firm dropped significantly because of impact of the global financial meltdown.

Share price of Filinvest Land yesterday closed unchanged at P0.42 per share.

Filinvest Land is also buying back its shares in the stock market in a bid to enhance shareholders? value. Filinvest Land?s shares are currently undervalued in the stock market.

The company earlier approved a P1.5-billion buyback program ?in view of the strong finance performance of the company and very large discrepancy between the current price and the net asset value of the company.?

?Management believes that the company?s shares are currently being undervalued by the market, and the share buyback program will enhance shareholder value,? Filinvest earlier said.

Filinvest Land, the property unit of the Gotianun family, early this month executed a joint venture agreement with the Cebu City government to develop a 50-hectare property in Cebu.

The agreement provides for the outright purchase of 10.6 hectares of the South Road properties in Cebu City by Filinvest Land and a joint venture with the provincial government to develop 40 hectares.

Filinvest Land and Cebu plan to develop the 40 hectares in four phases over 20 years, depending on prevailing market conditions.

Filinvest Land committed to shoulder the cost of developing the entire project, including marketing and management services, while the Cebu City government contributed the 40-hectare property as its equity.

Cebu City is guaranteed a minimum return of profit from the development of the 40-hectare property.

Filinvest Land plans to put up several high-rise and medium-rise condominiums within the property as well as hospital and retirement facilities, office buildings and a commercial center.