Alphaland Corp., an affiliate of the Ashmore Group, is spending up to P1.4 billion for the redevelopment of the 25-year-old building Southgate tower into a business process outsourcing structure with retail component.

Alphaland vice chairman Eric Recto told reporters that the BPO building, which the company acquired from the Puyat family in 2007 for P1.2 billion, would offer 40,000 square meters of office and 20,000 sq. m. of retail space.

Recto said the redevelopment of the building would be completed by January this year while the retail component of the project would start April.

The BPO building is located at the corner of Edsa and Chino Roces Ave.

The company is in talks with potential BPO companies that will lease the building.

Recto said Alphaland would also develop another property in the central business district, which it acquired from Sta. Lucia Land Inc. for P820 million.

Recto said the company would construct an office building within the 1,200-sq. m. property located along Ayala Avenue. He declined to give details on the project.

The 1,200-sq. m. property, which lies beside Prudential Bank Building, was the former site of the unfinished Associated Bank building.

Alphaland recently increased its authorized capital stock to P1 billion from P10,000 to fund real estate projects.

Alphaland Holdings (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and Filipino companies Masrickstar Corp., Boerstar Corp. and Asurestar Corp. subscribed to 249.99 million shares and paid P249.99 million.

Masrickstar will own 48 percent of the property company while Alphaland Holdings will control 40 percent.

Boerstar, Azurestar, Recto, former trade minister Roberto Ongpin, Mario Oreta and other small shareholders own a combined 12 percent stake in Alphaland.

Ashmore has investments in oil refiner Petron Corp. (90.57 percent), Philex Petroleum Corp. (49 percent) and telecommunications firm ISM Corp. (31.2 percent).

Food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. said last week it was close to acquiring up to 50.1 percent of Petron.

The Ashmore group on Dec. 23 completed the purchase of an additional 40 percent stake in Petron from state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. in a special block sale worth P26 billion at the Philippine Stock Exchange. The acquisition increased Ashmore’s stake in Petron to 90.57 percent.

This followed a special block sale on Dec. 22 worth P6.49 billion of Petron shares, representing 10 percent of the oil company. San Miguel confirmed it was the buyer of the shares. Jenniffer B. Austria