Business tycoon Manuel Villar is no longer the Philippines’ richest man after 366 hectares of land held by his company Villar Land Holdings Corp – part of an ambitious mixed-use estate in southern Manila whose facilities are to include two casinos – was revalued at well below its purchase price.
With shares in Golden MV Holdings Inc having plummeted by a staggering 87% as a result, Villar has seen more than US$18 billion of his fortune wiped with Bloomberg reporting that he is now worth around US$4 billion and is no longer the richest man in the Philippines. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Enrique Razon Jr – the Philippines ports giant and Chairman and CEO of Solaire Resort parent Bloomberry Resorts Corp – now holds top spot.
Villar’s spectacular fall was, as per local media reports, sparked by a dispute over the value of the land in question, purchased last year for Php5.2 billion (US$88.1 million) from three companies privately owned by the tycoon and subsequently revalued at over Php1.3 trillion (US$22.0 billion).
Trading in Villar Land shares were suspended after the company’s external auditor refused to recognize this valuation, resulting in the delayed submission of its audited 2024 Annual Report. Villar Land – previously known as Golden MV Holdings, Inc – ultimately agreed to a new land valuation of Php8.7 billion (US$148 million) which saw net profit for the year revised from its original Php999 billion (US$16.9 billion) to just Php1.4 billion (US$23.7 million). The market has this week responded in kind.
Financial experts have been scathing of Villar Land’s previous valuations, with Jesus Mariano Ocampo, the President and COO of investment house Investment & Capital Corp of the Philippines, telling The Manila Times that the dramatic fall in share price reflected the company’s “true numbers.”
“Investors also don’t appreciate being given wrong numbers by management,” he said.
Trading Edge chief investment strategist Ron Acoba told the same outlet that even Villar Land’s current valuation “appears difficult to justify”, while DragonFi Securities analyst Jarrod Tin said the “massive discrepancy” between the company’s valuation and that of its auditor “implies that [Villar Land’s] shares remain significantly overvalued and may still need to correct toward more realistic valuations.”
Forbes quoted John Gatmaytan, Chairman of Philippine brokerage Luna Securities, as stating, “Reality bites. The market has always been skeptical about the value of the company. There’s no doubt the assets are there but what is its value and how really good are these assets?”
It was only six months ago that Villar stated his plan to renew focus on the development of his ambitious 3,500-hectare mixed-use estate, Villar City, in the south of Metro Manila after briefly stepping away to support his daughter’s political campaign.
Villar City is described as an “expansive megalopolis” connecting 15 towns and cities across Metro Manila and Cavite. Once fully built out, it is planned to comprise a central business district, tech valley, university town, hospital, golf courses and various leisure and recreational facilities, including two casinos.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the casino projects alone are expected to cost around US$1 billion with the first to be built on the 18,000 square-meter shopping complex Vista Mall Global South. The casino had been envisioned to target international high-rollers as well as local players although a previous partnership with Dowinn Group to operate the facility collapsed following the junket’s 2024 financial woes.
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