The Podium was opened by Madam Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, during her State Visit to celebrate the 50ᵗʰ anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the Philippines
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Keppel Land Limited (Keppel Land) and BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO), a member of the SM Group, marked the grand opening of the office and retail mixed-use development, The Podium, at a ceremony in Manila, the Philippines, today. Keppel Philippines Properties, a subsidiary of Keppel Land, holds a 40% stake in The Podium, while BDO and an associate company hold the remaining stakes.
The Guest-of-Honour was Madam Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, who was accompanied by Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee; Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education; Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry; Mr Silvestre Bello III, Secretary of Department of Labor and Employment; Mr Ramon Lopez, Secretary of Department of Trade and Industry; Mayor Carmelita Aguilar Abalos of Mandaluyong City and senior officials from Singapore and the Philippines. Senior management from the Keppel Group, led by Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation; Mr Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corporation and Mr Tan Swee Yiow, CEO of Keppel Land, as well as Ms Teresita Sy-Coson, Chairperson of BDO; Mr Hans Sy, Chairman of the Executive Committee of SM Prime Holdings and Mr Nestor Tan, President and CEO of BDO, were also present.
Ms Teresita Sy-Coson, Chairperson of BDO, said, "Today, we mark the completion of The Podium development, comprising an expanded Podium mall and an office tower, which is envisioned to serve the growing demand for prime office spaces of the Ortigas Center. The Podium project clearly demonstrates the shared optimism of Keppel and BDO on the growth prospects of the Philippines' retail and office sector as economic growth and domestic demand remain strong."
Mr Tan Swee Yiow, CEO of Keppel Land, said, "We celebrate the successful collaboration with our like-minded partner, BDO, with the opening of this landmark eco-icon in the Ortigas central business district. Keppel Land has been contributing to and participating in the growth of the Philippines' economy since the early 1990s. The Podium is a landmark commercial development that hosts multinational companies and retail tenants and its successful completion is a testament of the strong relationships, network and execution capabilities that we have built up over the years."
Developed in phases, Phase One of The Podium comprises The Podium retail mall, which was opened in 2002. Phase Two retail mall commenced operations in 2017. Construction of The Podium West Tower started in 2015 and was completed in May 2019. The total net leasable area of The Podium development is about 140,000 sqm, comprising about 50,000 sqm of retail space and about 90,000 sqm of office space.
The Podium has a 2,000 sm garden wall, the largest vertical green wall in the country with over 6,500 plants, which provides a green lung to the property's environment. In recognition of its sustainable features, The Podium was awarded the LEED Gold Mark (Core & Shell) pre-certification by the US Green Building Council, and is the first building in the Philippines to receive the provisional Green Mark Gold Award by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore.
In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the Philippines, Enterprise Singapore is staging Singaporium, an exclusive lifestyle and food pop-up fair, at the atrium of The Podium retail mall from 6 to 15 September 2019. The fair showcases 17 Singaporean brands in the fashion, food and lifestyle sectors.
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About Keppel Land
Keppel Land is the property arm of Keppel Corporation, a multi-business company providing robust solutions for sustainable urbanisation, with key businesses in offshore and marine, property, infrastructure and investments.
As a multi-faceted property company, Keppel Land provides innovative real estate solutions with its sterling portfolio of award-winning residential developments, investment-grade commercial properties and integrated townships.
Keppel Land is geographically diversified in Asia, with Singapore, China and Vietnam as its key markets, while it continues to scale up in other markets such as Indonesia and India.
Keppel Land is Asia's premier home developer, with a pipeline of about 46,000 homes in Singapore and overseas. It is also a leading prime office developer in Singapore and is committed to grow its commercial portfolio in key Asian cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin in China, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Jakarta in Indonesia, Manila in the Philippines and Yangon in Myanmar.
About BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO)
BDO is a full-service universal bank in the Philippines. It provides a complete array of industry-leading products and services including Lending (corporate and consumer), Deposit-taking, Foreign Exchange, Brokering, Trust and Investments, Credit Cards, Corporate Cash Management and Remittances. Through its local subsidiaries, the Bank offers Investment Banking, Private Banking, Leasing and Finance, Rural Banking, Life Insurance, Insurance Brokerage and Stock Brokerage services.
Its institutional strengths and value-added products and services hold the key to strong business relationships with customers. Its branches remain at the forefront of setting high standards as a sales and service-oriented, customer-focused force. BDO has the largest distribution network with over 1,200 operating branches and more than 4,000 ATMs nationwide.
Through selective acquisitions and organic growth, BDO has positioned itself for increased balance sheet strength and continuing expansion into new markets. As of 30 June 2019, BDO is the country's largest bank in terms of consolidated resources, customer loans, deposits, assets under management and capital, as well as branch and ATM network nationwide.
BDO is a member of the SM Group, one of the country's largest and most successful conglomerates with businesses spanning retail, mall operations, property development (residential, commercial, resorts/hotel), and financial services.