For Mariana Zobel de Ayala, the chance to help develop the Philippines’ tourism industry by boosting Ayala Land’s investments in retail and hotel properties could not have come at a better time.
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As the senior vice-president for leasing and hospitality of one of the largest developers in the Philippines, Zobel de Ayala believes tourism will be a major driver of the country’s economic expansion.
Ayala Land, which bought the 578-room New World Hotel Makati from distressed Hong Kong developer New World Development for an undisclosed amount last month, has announced a US$2.5 billion investment from 2025 to 2029 in its leasing and hospitality businesses. The plans include major expansions of retail and office space, as well as a doubling of the group’s 4,225-room hotel portfolio.
“It’s always been a goal of ours to get a higher share of recurring income when looking at Ayala Land as a whole,” said the 36-year-old daughter of Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, the 66-year-old chairman of Ayala Corp. “We are very excited to be deploying quite a bit of capital over the next few years to be able to increase our share of recurring income in the form of malls, offices and hospitality.”
Besides Ayala Land, Ayala Corp – one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in the Philippines – has interests in the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, healthcare and private education.
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Ayala Land posted a net income of 14.2 billion pesos (US$248 million) in the first half of 2025, an increase of 8 per cent from a year earlier. The builder’s leasing and hospitality group achieved the highest first-half revenues in its history at 23.2 billion pesos, a 5 per cent increase from the previous year, according to its latest financial report.