Villar Land valuer told to explain trillion-peso tag
The appraiser of the assets of Villar Land Holdings Corp. has been ordered to explain its trillion-peso valuation of the listed firm’s properties. This, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deepens its investigation into its finances.
The Office of the General Accountant at the SEC issued a show cause order against E-Value Phils Inc. on Sept. 29. It directed the latter to explain why it should not be penalized for its valuation of 366.34 hectares of land owned. The properties were by Althorp Land Holdings Inc., Chalgrove Properties Inc. and Los Valores Corp.
Villar Land, formerly Golden MV Holdings Inc., bought the properties last year for P5.2 billion.
Based on E-Value’s initial valuation report, however, the value of these assets were at P1.34 trillion. This led to the controversial trillion-peso valuation of Villar Land.
“The SEC will continue to investigate this matter thoroughly in the interest of upholding transparency and accountability in valuation practices and accuracy in financial reporting,” the corporate watchdog said.
The company led by the powerful Villar family was recently ordered to pay P12 million in fines for failing to submit its audited financial statements on time. It has since appealed this order.
Villar Land’s auditor, Punongbayan & Araullo, had requested the engagement of another appraiser to validate the valuation done by E-Value.
