Ayala Land Inc., the property arm of Ayala Corp., is expecting a slowdown in residential sales this year as the global economic crisis takes its toll on remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

"A lot of the clients are on a wait-and-see mode, and so we expect demand from our residential portfolio to slow this year," outgoing company president Jaime Ayala said at the sidelines of Ayala Land's annual stockholders' meeting on Wednesday.

The company's residential sales account for some 40 to 50 percent of its total revenues. Previous years' high take up of residential units were fuelled by the shift of OFW's investment appetite to real estate properties after popular pre-need investment plans were hit by controversies and bankruptcies.

With this, Ayala Land is expecting growth to come from its leasing portfolio this year, particularly from renting out mall and office spaces.

"Sales in retail are doing well, and also in the leasing portfolio, so this is where we see growth in the coming months," Ayala said.

Leasing accounts take up 30 percent of Ayala Land's profits.

To make up for lost demand from overseas, Ayala said the company will be focusing on low to mid-income affordable housing on the domestic front. Ayala Land is spending P17.4 billion in capital expenditures this year, primarily to develop more affordable residential projects and to construct new shopping malls.

"We are entering the downturn this year, and it will be harder to match 2008's performance, a record year for us," says Ayala.

Ayala Land managed to post a 10-percent growth in net income last year despite the economic downturn. The company had a net income of P4.8 billion last year against P4.4 billion in 2007, owing to strong operating revenues and equity earnings from affiliates, as well as cost control measures. - Michelle Orosa, ABS-CBN News