South East Asia Business Awards 2019

4 APAC / 2019 South East Asia Business Awards Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. , May19387 Best Residential Real Estate Development Company 2019 - Philippines With experience that spans more than a quarter of a century, Empire East Land Holdings Inc. is a real estate developer committed to building quality homes for aspiring homeowners. To celebrate the firm’s success in this year’s South East Asia Business Awards we provide an in-depth insight into the services it provides and how it has changed the face of its country’s real estate development market for the better. Since it was founded in 1994 Empire East has been working to perfect the art of synergy. For 25 years, Empire East has built communities that propel its residents in achieving their goals and provides them with a space they can truly feel at home in. Throughout the years, this dynamic and driven company has continued to create and innovate concepts which have shifted the paradigm of urban real estate design around the metro. The lifestyle concepts we pioneered in the Philippine real estate industry include the township model, zero down payment schemes, loft-type units, micro-city developments, transit-oriented developments and urban resort communities. Being based in the Philippines has bought the firm many benefits, as alongside Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, the country is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which paves the way for economic integration, allowing the region to create more opportunities and advancements for its people, and for the blossoming businesses that are potential assets of the economy. As such, Empire East has been able to flourish whilst at the same time working to change the country’s housing market for the better. For years, the housing backlog has been the main concern of every government, and while there are groups and people who are doing their part, a considerable number of delays remain. Empire East is committed to providing more affordable residential developments through flexible payment schemes and has participated in pocket CSR programs that helped build homes to beneficiaries of Gawad Kalinga- a non-profit organization in the Philippines designed to help needy families in every region. Initially, when it first began in 1994 Empire East revolutionised the market by simultaneously launching its first township development in Santa Rosa, Laguna - the Laguna Bel-Air, and its first condominium project - the Little Baguio Gardens in San Juan City. Laguna Bel-Air was the first mid-cost house and lot subdivision integrated with a school, a church, commercial establishments, world- class recreational facilities, and its own transportation system - a concept that was later on copied by the firm’s competitors. Other projects in prime locations were also launched such as Governor’s Place in Mandaluyong City, Kingswood in Makati City and Gilmore Heights in Quezon City. Then in 1997 Empire East introduced cluster-type condominium development through the launching of San Francisco Gardens, a six-tower community located in Mandaluyong City with a contemporary architectural design. Having an enclave of multiple towers with shared amenities and retail arcade provided a complete “micro-city” living experience. The Company later on launched projects with nine, 25 up to 37 towers, which have become successful and flourishing neighbourhoods in the metro. Seeking to change the way the real estate market operated, in 1999 Empire East democratized home ownership in the Philippines when the Asian Financial Crisis struck the country in 1997. At the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Empire East made the bold move of being the first developer in the country to offer flexible payment terms with “No Down Payment and No Interest” giving the market, which has no capacity to cash out big payments, the chance to still afford and patronize its projects. A bold move, this led the company to appeal to locals who wanted to own a part of this unique luxury development without the pressure of immediate payment. To this very day the company remains the first real estate player to introduce Flexible Payment