The state-run Social Security System said over the weekend it prefers to lease its property for longer periods to increase the revenues of the pension fund.
SSS president Conrado De Quiros Jr. identified Hong Kong Sun Plaza in Roxas Blvd. as one of properties up for leasing.
“One property is the Hong Kong [Sun] Plaza, we’re going to lease it out on a long term basis. We’re looking at giving the option to whoever wants to lease it between 10 and 20 years,” De Quiros said.
De Quiros declined to say the lease value of the property but considered it “significant.”
“That will be within the year, I think we’re in the process already of publishing the invitation to bid. It should come in within the month of September,” De Quiros said
“The only reason why we’re leasing the Hong Kong Plaza is that it is very close to the Entertainment City. So the way we look at it, it may not be a good time at this point in time to sell it, because we see prices [moving] up eventually. So we’re leaving it to the next administration, and later on whoever will manage SSS, we think he should keep it,” he added.
The HK Sun Plaza was one of the failed auctions of SSS last year after attracting just one bidder for the long-term lease of the property.
Filinvest Land Inc. was the sole bidder for the HK Sun Plaza property, which covers a 44,000-square meter warehouse and an adjacent 6,000 sq m vacant lot at the Financial Center Area along Macapagal Avenue and Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.
The minimum rental rate bid is P16 million a month for the s25-year lease period, including a six-month fit-out period, SSS earlier said.
SSS earlier said it would hire three fund managers to manage P3 billion worth of investment assets, its top official said.
De Quiros told reporters an the sidelines of the agency’s 59th anniversary celebration Friday the three fund managers would handle assets worth P1 billion each.
De Quiros said the agency was waiting the go-signal from the Social Security Commission appointees.
“We are just waiting for the new commissioners to be appointed so our investment group will be making their presentations and recommendations,” he said.
He said the pension system planned to hire the fund managers within the year once the SSC commissioners, who serve as the governing body of the SSS, were appointed.
De Quiros added SSS would focus on local funder managers before possibly tapping the servies of overseas managers.
“The problem is a lot of the banks and the trust companies had problems getting BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) clearances so we hope that they would be able to resolve it this year,” he said.
SSS booked an investment income of P28.65 billion in 2015, or 19 percent lower than P34.53 billion in 2014.