Villar’s money journey
The Villar group became a dominant force in the local property sector through the skillful capital sourcing and deft management of former Senate President Manny Villar, who now leads the group. His wife, Senator Cynthia Villar, shared the story with DAILY TRIBUNE editors during a visit.
Starting with just P10,000 in 1975—the same year he married Cynthia—Manny purchased two second-hand trucks to begin a gravel-and-sand business in what was then the town of Las Piñas.
He later ventured into the real estate business, founding Camella Homes in 1977. Manny expanded into the middle-income housing market with Crown Asia and the luxury development sector through Brittany in 1992. Vista Land, the group’s flagship real estate company, was listed on the stock exchange in 2007.
“We had a share offering abroad in 1992. Our capital came from foreign fund investments, then we had public offerings in the stock market in 1995 and 2007,” Senator Villar explained.
She also highlighted the nature of American investment funds, which are typically focused on securing dividends rather than taking an active role in running companies. “What they are after is that their dividends are ensured every year. These are the retirement funds that manage mutual investments,” she said.
She recounted a conversation with international fund managers who expressed concerns about the security of financing, specifically questioning what would happen if Pag-IBIG, the state-run low-cost housing provider, were to close down. “They asked, ‘Where will your buyers borrow from?’” she said.
Manny Villar reassured the fund managers, saying, “The government will not close down. Pag-IBIG is one way that middle-class Filipinos can invest in a housing project. No sane government will do that.”
“That’s what Manny said, and the American funds bought the company’s stocks,” the senator noted.
The American fund managers were worried that the Villar Group would lose access to affordable financing for homes, a concern that arose before the United States housing bubble burst and the resulting high interest rates reverberated globally.
The housing bubble preceding the crisis was fueled by mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, which initially offered higher interest rates than government securities, along with attractive risk ratings from agencies.
Despite their high ratings, most of these investments were linked to prime mortgages. Subprime lending and increased housing speculation were the primary causes of the ensuing crisis.