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IT-BPM sector to drive 2018 office demand to record high
The information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector is expected to drive office space take-up to record high this year, Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) said Monday.
In a briefing in Makati City, LPC chief executive officer David Leechiu said the office space in Metro Manila is likely to grow by as much as 1.2 million square meters this year.
“BPM players already invested in the Philippines will continue to dominate the Metro Manila office sector. In the meantime, they are also expanding in provincial locations such as Clark in Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas and, notably, Cebu,” he said.
A number of IT-BPM companies have pledged to take more than 400,000 square meters of office space.
A large chunk of the pre-commitments, or 26 percent of the total, were attributed to the IT-BPM sector with 11 percent to offshore gaming firms, and 5 percent to banking and finance.
“Demand from the BPM industry is expected to rebound in 2018 and to continue leading the market in office take-up,” LPC said in a separate statement.
“The offshore or online gaming industry if forecasted to grow by at least 15 percent and to continue expanding in districts outside Bay City,” it said.
Data from LPC shows that as of end-January 2018, IT-BPM firms have pre-committed to take 415,000 sqm, “the largest pre-commitment activity in history,” Leechiu said.
The IT-BPM sector took an additional 357,999 sqm or 46 percent in 2017, compared with 485,100 sqm in 2016. Leechiu noted there was a sharp growth in demand and actual take-up by online gaming firms that were accredited and licensed as Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo).
“They don’t waste time negotiating for a 100-peso, a 50-peso reduction. They don't waste time spending one, two months. What they want to do is go live as soon as possible,” he said.
However, the business process outsourcing sector is expected to grow further this year with the expansion of economic zones supervised by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Leechiu noted.
“We need more PEZA spaces in Manila so more companies can locate in Manila,” he said.
PEZA director general Charito Plaza has said the government intends to convert at least 300 private lands into new economic zones this year.
Leechiu said new office spaces that will be available can address the demand led by the IT-BPM industry. —VDS, GMA News
