Ayala Land Inc (ALI), a leading diversified property company in the Philippines, is set to open its Middle East headquarters in Dubai.

With this, it will become the first Philippine-based property developer that has a representative license to operate in the UAE.

The office, which will serve as the company’s Middle East hub, will be able to make available 100+ properties nationwide from its brands Bella Vita, AMAIA, Avida, ALVEO and Ayala Land Premier.

ALI's official entry into the Middle East region will ensure that overseas Filipinos will be able to manage their wealth and property investments in the Philippines while they stay here in the UAE.

Ayala Land offers properties for as low as Dh43,000 ($11,703) and with bank financing for as long as 20 years in partnership with BPI and other banks, a statement said.

Thomas Mirasol, president of ALI, said: “Over the years through the participation of the Ayala Group in banking, telecommunications, water utilities, infrastructure, tourism and real-estate development we have been partners of the government in nation-building.”

“The upcoming launch of our office in the UAE marks another milestone in this partnership as we near the formal opening of Ayala Land's representative office here in Dubai. The UAE is temporary home to around 600,000 Filipinos and through this office we hope to bring the good news of the Philippines to our countrymen here.

“Ayala has a long and solid history in property development, in accordance with the highest construction quality standards. But equally important is not just what’s delivered when properties are turned-over to their owners but also what happens to particular development or project, 10 or 20 years down the road.

“We have a track record of good after sales service and when you look at the track record of our developments, there is a substantial value appreciation thanks to our commitment to manage and nurture our projects long after we turned it over.”

ALI's entry into the Middle East coincides with a year of unprecedented success for the Philippine economy – the main PSEi stock exchange index in February crossed 6,600 points, and the country's tourism sector is set for a boom that makes real estate one of the most lucrative areas in the near future.

Simultaneously, the Filipino expatriate community worldwide rose to the third position in 2012 in terms of foreign exchange remittances. Until November 2012, Filipino expatriates sent home almost $20 billion; the final year-end figure was expected to be around $24 billion.

“This is absolutely the right time for a powerhouse of the Philippine economy to meet the people who have given currency to the phrase 'Pinoy power' through their hard work, enterprise and talent for creating wealth. We hope to see many of them at our launch event,” Mirasol added.

ALI is the real estate arm of Ayala Corporation, the 179-year-old Philippine conglomerate with a portfolio spanning sectors from banking to renewable energy. With a market capitalisation of $10 billion (as of February 13), ALI is recognised as the largest and most diversified property company in the country.

Ayala Land's real estate holdings span residential, retail, office developments and hotels & resorts. One of its most important recent acquisitions was the last year’s purchase of the stake owned by Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Hotel Investments in the luxury Fairmont Hotel and Raffles Suites and Residences project, in the commercial business district of Makati City. – TradeArabia News Service