The Philippine office market for business process outsourcing operations grew by 38 percent in the second quarter this year, the highest since the start of the pandemic, indicating the sector is ready to take off and resume its pre-pandemic growth trajectory, a property management and consultancy services firm said.
According to Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), demand for office space nationwide grew by 38 percent from first quarter 2021’s 122,000 square meters to the second quarter’s Q demand of 169,000 sqm.
Office demand is the highest it has been since the start of the pandemic, according to LPC CEO David Leechiu. As of 1H 2021, it is now at 291,000 sqm.
“This is already 75 percent of demand for the entire 2020. There is no doubt that the Philippines is back on the radar of global occupiers,” he said.
Even more significant is that the BPO industry accounted for 92,000 or 54 percent of 2Q 2021 demand. It grew by 160 percent from Q1 2021’s 35,000 driven by economic stability in the West.
“Even if they were relatively quiet in 2020, BPOs are back,” said Leechiu. “The same fundamentals that attracted BPOs to the Philippines during the financial crisis of 2008 are once again working for us.”
Investor sentiment has improved with the rollout of COVID 19 vaccines and the passage of Senate Bill 2232 which clarified tax concerns of Philippine Online Gaming Operators (POGOs).
With the reopening of international borders, POGOs are expected to revive their interest in the Philippine office market and further prime the country’s economic recovery. All these events have aligned to support the Philippine office market. Its resurgence this quarter is a strong and clear indicator of recovery, the study concluded.
Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/09/bpo-office-demand-grew-38-property-consultant/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bpo-office-demand-grew-38-property-consultant)
0 Comments