First Orient, led by businessman Kevin Wong, owns about 49 hectares of land in Cavite province, including the former Island Cove property near Kawit.
The deal, approved by EEI’s board on Sept. 3, 2025, involves the full acquisition of First Orient from KC Land Oriental Pacific Inc.
“The acquisition of [First Orient] is part of the company’s long-term growth strategy to evolve from a pure-play construction company into a fully integrated property and infrastructure developer,” EEI said in the filing.
What’s the deal about?
First Orient, through the 36-hectare Island Cove property, was a major landlord to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, or POGOs.
The firm was impacted by the 2024 ban on POGOs, which resulted in lease deals being terminated.
Based on its latest financial report, the owners then decided to redevelop the property into a mixed-use development or sell to another group, with EEI emerging as the final buyer.
Formerly controlled by the Yuchengco family, EEI is now jointly owned by the Yuchengcos, HDA Holdings Inc. (led by EEI CEO Henry Antonio), and Leyte tycoon Francis Lloyd Chua’s Industry Holdings and Development Corp.
Around 20 percent of the firm was owned by the family of Rep. Martin Romualdez, but he eventually sold his shares to HDA Holdings earlier this year.
Analyst’s view
Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia, research head at AP Securities, said EEI could unlock strong synergies from the acquisition given the property’s wide footprint and its proximity to the Sangley International Airport project, which is also backed by the Yuchengco family.
“There’s a lot of potential directions that EEI can take with the property, considering its size and proximity to Sangley,” he added.
Steep discount?
Island Cove, the largest asset of First Orient, was once owned by the powerful Remulla political clan of Cavite.
It used to house a water park and wildlife sanctuary before it was sold to new investors in 2018.
In 2024, then Cavite governor Jonvic Remulla said they paid around P400 million in taxes for the sale, suggesting a sale price above P5 billion.
While the cash deal suggests a big discount, EEI is purchasing a firm with P11.4 billion in advances at the end of 2024, its financial report showed.
These advances effectively function as debt and represent obligations EEI will need to repay to related parties.
First Orient also lists P14.87 billion in investment properties. This includes P2.78 billion in land and P12.1 billion in buildings.
Because of the POGO ban, First Orient swung to a P472.1 million loss in 2024 from a P541.3 million profit the previous year.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
