Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) expects the office sector’s growth to speed up in the second half of the year with the implementation of the no-lockdown directive of the government and a resolution to the work-from-home arrangement in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
LPC pegs the current live requirements in various stages of negotiation at 451,000 square meters (sq.m.) with the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector accounting for 212,000 sq.m.
“The government’s perceived determination to return to business as usual is expected to drive the Philippine office market back to 2016’s pre-POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operators) and pre-pandemic state. Office demand in 2016 was then at 647,000 sq.m.,” said David Leechiu, LPC chief executive officer.
As of the second quarter of this year, actual office absorption was at 255,000 sq.m., the highest since the start of the pandemic, LPC said.
LPC said the property sector’s office segment is positioned to enjoy strong growth arising from the opportunities brought about by “a multitude of global headwinds” including global inflation and rising interest rates.
The IT-BPM sector is now accountable for 1.4 million jobs, making it the country’s largest employer.
“In the ‘crisis year’ of 2021, as many as 120,000 outsourcing jobs were created as a response to financial uncertainties in the West indicating that the trend of increasing IT-BPM employment will continue as economic challenges prevail worldwide,” LPC said.
LPC said the numbers are bound to gain fresh impetus given the new Marcos administration’s perceived determination to return to business as usual and its reluctance to imposing new lockdowns. – Ruelle Castro
