BPO boom fuels real estate rebound in the Philippines!
03/10/2007

Foreign business process outsourcing (BPO) companies have been attracted to set up shop in the Philippines due to the presence of a big pool of workers as well as competitive lease prices, according to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry.

"BPO companies are not only on hiring binges, they are also in need of Grade A office spaces," said Trade assistant secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes, executive director of CITEM. "For our commercial real estate developers, this strong demand is welcome."

BPO providers and established names like GenPact, e-Telecare, Teletech, IBM Daksh, Dell, and Ericsson Communication contributed to the real estate boom experienced by the Philippines in 2006.

According to a CB Richard Ellis report, a combined total of 120,200 square meters of office spaces have been allocated to new BPO locators in the first semester of 2006 alone and an estimated 60,000 sqm of office spaces have been addded during the rest of the year.

Examples of the buildings that were leased to BPO firms in 2006 were Net Square and Bonifacio Global City developed by 19-1 Realty; EC IT Center in Mandaluyong by Greenfield ; Plaza A, Northgate Cyberzone developed by Filinvest; and Cybergate 1&2 at Mandaluyong developed by Robinsons Land.

A big part of the real estate demand, added Agoncillo-Reyes, is BPO firms who are expanding in Manila.

For 2007, the need for grade A office spaces is being answered by property developers doing "build-to-suit" deals and cyberzones for companies who came to Manila for BPO work.

The following is a list of developments that real estate firms are undertaking to take advantage of the BPO boom:

• Ayala Land - UP Science and Tech Park in Quezon City ;
• Robinsons Land - Cybergate Zone in Mandaluyong City and Cyberpark in Libis, Quezon City;
• Federal Land - Developments in Bay Area, Pasay City and in Bonifacio Global City;
• Filinvest Land - Northgate Cyberzone in Alabang;
• SM Investments Corporation - Call center facilities near SM Mall of Asia;
• Megaworld - Projects in McKinley Hill and Newport City