April 19, 2017 | Malaya Business
Property consultancy firm Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) said business process outsourcing (BPO) firms are moving to the provinces, sending office vacancy rates in Metro Manila to 4 percent.
This exodus creates demand for as much as 800,000 square meters of office space in the next five years, according to David Leechiu, LPC chief executive officer.
Leechiu, who is also a trustee of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, said the IT-BPO labor workforce outside Metro Manila is estimated to grow by 60 percent in 2022.
“The projected additional 200,000 employees in the provinces translate to a demand for approximately 800,000 sq.m. of office space or the projected annual office takeup in Metro Manila for 2017,” Leechiu said.
“On the supply side, a total of 5.4 million sq.m. of office space is projected to come onstream from now up to 2023 throughout the country,” he added.
Leechiu said 74 percent of that will be in Metro Manila with the balance spread across Cebu, Calabarzon, and other cities.
“A strong pipeline of Metro Manila office supply that will be available this year will also most likely be matched by strong demand from BPOs and most recently, the online gaming sector, which took up 83,960 sq.m. in the last six months alone,” said Leechiu.
“This industry, new to the Philippines, has also contributed to the takeup of residential units in key Metro Manila locations,” he added.
Leechiu said about 500,000 sqm in new supply have pre-committed.
“Cebu will continue to be an option of IT-BPO firms expanding outside Metro Manila. In the next five years, this metropolis is expected to increase its supply by 4 million sq.m.,” Leechiu said.
“Other key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao led by Davao and Iloilo will have an additional projected supply of 779,996 sq.m. while Luzon led by Cavite and Pampanga will account for an estimated 541,981 sqm. over the same period,” he added.