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CB
Richard Ellis Philippines Inc said Wednesday business
process outsourcing and information technology
outsourcing companies will drive up demand for office
space as these industries will continue to expand their
operations this year.
Trent
Frankum, general manager of CB Richard Ellis, said in a
media briefing in Makati City that traditional BPO sites
Quezon City, Makati, Alabang, Pasay and Taguig will
continue to register growth in terms of office spaces.
“We have observed Taguig specifically the Fort Bonifacio
Global City and Pasay City mainly the reclaimed area is
also attracting locators for BPO investors,” said
Frankum.
He said
the presence of Dell Computers in Mall of Asia is an
indication that the area is also a good site for
attracting future investors.
The
presences of BPOs also attract other business such as
restaurants, banks, health centers and convenient stores
to serve the workers occupying the building.
Frankum
said BPOs, call centers and other tenants will continue
to give higher importance to alternative locations to
achieve cost-effectiveness of their operations. He said
the tenants eyeing the outsourcing market will search
for more facilities to suit their
operations.
“We have
been coordinating with the government and Business
Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines as
far as growth of projection is concerned. I guess we
have underestimated the growth of BPOs in 2006,” he
said.
“We are
bullish and optimistic but at the same time realistic
about the scenario on the property,” he
added.
Radovan
said call centers and BPOs will continue to contribute
to office take-up for 2007 and is not expected to level
in the near term. The Board of Investments estimates
that the call center/BPO sector’s revenue this year to
increase by 37 percent to almost a billion from last
year. Furthermore, job creation from the sector is
expected to grow by a hefty 40 percent to 343,013
employees from the 2006 estimate of 244,675.
There is
no let up in the growth of the outsourcing business as
it continue to expand beyond call centers ( i.e. voice)
to high value added services (i.e. non-voice, back
office.) As the world’s largest vertically integrated
real-estate services firm and a leading provider of
real-estate services in the Philippines, CBRE
Philippines is well positioned to assist outsourcing
multinational corporations for their corporate
requirements.
The same
briefing, Frankum also reported in his presentation that
vacancy rates in prime grade
Makati office hit 1.6 percent at the end of the fourth quarter.
Moreover, some prime grade buildings reported zero
vacancy for large or contiguous floor
space.
Meanwhile, average prime
Makati
central business district (CBD) rental rates rose 35
percent from P550 per square meter to P744 per square
meter in 2006 year-on-year.
“Leasing
rates in some prime Makati CBD buildings are at the P800
per square meter level or above,” said Joey Radovan,
vice chairman, CB Richard Ellis Philippines Inc.
Radovan
said no new office units will be ready for occupancy in
the Makati CBD in the next twelve months. This situation
supports rising CBD rents and falling vacancies. With no
sale transaction of prime office space in the Makati CBD,
capital values remains flat at P68,000 on the average
resulting to favorable yield to the owners.
Meanwhile, CB Richard Ellis said they will be conducting
10 upcoming auctions worth over P10 billion. The
properties are located in Mega Manila and Southern
Luzon. Properties for sales will include condominium
units, houses and lot packages in subdivisions and prime
residential properties and commercial properties. |
