[ Manila Bulletin Online ] October 23, 2008
By ANA MARIE MACUJA
CB Richard Ellis remains optimistic on the country’s property sector given the continued growth of the local BPO industry. The world’s largest commercial real estate services firm, however, emphasized that it is time to revisit other segments of the property industry and identify the opportunities waiting to be discovered.
According to CBRE, the strong take-up of office space by BPO companies in the last three years has revived the Philippine property sector. The trend, company chairman Rick M.Santos said, will continue as US companies still have no choice but to outsource services to survive and survival and remain profitable.
Multinational Companies (MNCs) need to outsource to continue their operations and thrive especially during these critical times, Santos said, adding that even Asian companies like India have begun establishing BPOs in the country to expand their businesses.
"The demand for office space remains strong; however, the speculative supply is moving ahead of it." Moreover, it should be noted that most BPO office projects are scalable, meaning to say, any "slowdown" in demand can be remedied by deferment of actual construction, Santos explained.
CBRE is tracking roughly about 501,925 square meters of leasable office space mainly for BPO companies in 2008. This is significantly higher than last year’s monitored take-up of about 330,000 square meters.
Apart from the BPO industry, OFWs and the tourism industry are expected to drive the Philippine economy and the property industry forward.
According to CBRE, tourist arrivals breached the three-million mark in 2007 after staying within the two-million territory from 2004 to 2006. Demand for more hotel rooms is expected to rise with projected tourist arrivals to surge to 3.4 million in 2008 and generate .8 bilion in international tourism receipts.
The increase in office space occupied by BPO companies in the last three years and the rise in tourist visitors (i.e. 3.1 million in 2007) now supports the construction of new hotel projects not only in the business districts but in top tourist destinations across the country.
As the US economy absorbs the consequences of the sub-prime crisis and financial meltdown, they also need to deleverage to regain fiscal stability. Meantime, the Philippines will have to decouple itself from the US and move to grow its domestic market and to tap new markets in other parts of the globe, CBRE said.
