CB RICHARD Ellis (CBRE) Philippines, the local unit of global property and management consultant firm CBRE, projects a robust period in the business as it expects to arrange the lease of 350,000 to 450, 000 square meters of office space this year,  largely to business process outsourcing (BPO) entities.

“For the first time since the administration of President Fidel Ramos, we are seeing a big interest among foreign investors to come in the country,” said Rick Santos, chairman of CBRE Philippines, in an interview after the recent Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) forum held in Makati City.

“We are seeing positive things about the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals. And Philippine rents are cheap, just about one-twelfth of Hong Kong, “added Santos.

Santos said CBRE facilitated a total of 275,000 square meters last year. He pointed it will be higher this year as more call centers and business process outsourcing (BPOs) centers are expected to expand their operations because of the increase in demand by global clients.

He said the expansion will be experienced around the metropolis such as the Makati central business district; Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City; the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City; Ortigas Center in Pasig; Bonifacio Global City in Taguig; and the Cybergate in Muntinlupa City.

“It will not only be the call centers contributing to the growth. BPOs and knowledge process outsourcing units will be at the forefront of the upsurge. The big names like Accenture, JP Morgan, Convergys and Teletech will be in the lead,” he said.

Santos said the Philippines must also embrace global trends in green building and green rating systems such as LEED.

“There has been an exponential increase in green developments not only in the US and Europe, but more so in Asia. Fortune 500 companies, multinational companies and local firma are now considering green initiatives as prerequisites in their day-to-day maintenance and operations. Through our global networks and resources, we hope to strengthen this drives towards sustainable development, which as pointed out in several studies-will benefit not only developers and the environment, but also end users-tenants, employees, and residents in the long run,” said Santos.

At present, CBRE Philippines is facilitating the lease of office space in the Zuellig Building on the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Makati avenues in Makati City. At present, Santos said 20 percent of office space, which is still under construction, has been leased to tenants.

The Zuellig Building is the first Gold-level LEED core and shell precertified structure in the country. The building is expected to provide measurable benefits in terms of energy savings, operating costs and employee productivity once completed.