Provinces in the Philippines drive office demand as they aim to attract more talent

BPO firms account for more than 56 percent of these deals

There has been a growth in office demand in the provincial areas in the Philippines as they aim to attract more talent, particularly information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) firms, reported Philstar Global.

“With BPO (business process outsourcing) firms now allowed to implement 100 percent work-from-home setup without any adverse impact on their tax incentives, many registered business enterprises (RBEs) are now seen to expand their office footprint outside Metro Manila and fast-track the setup of their operations in the provinces, long been seen as an untapped resource for BPO players talent-wise,” said Tricia Pacete, Colliers Philippines market analyst for office services-landlord.

Provincial office transactions QoQ went up throughout the first three quarters of 2022, reaching 145,000 sq m. BPO firms account for more than 56 percent of these deals.

More: The Philippines’ office market continues to gain momentum as H1 2022 comes to a close

With around 34,000 sq m of office transactions, Cebu remains the top provincial destination for BPOs, followed by Davao (21,000 sq m), and Pampanga (9,000 sq m).

Office space demand in the country reached its peak in Q3 2022 with 313,000 sq m, the highest since January 2020, especially as the IT-BPM sector continues to thrive. Additionally, this figure is 240 percent higher than in the same period last year, according to the Manila Bulletin.

The IT-BPM sector accounted for 332,000 sq m YTD 2022.

Over the past two years, the IT-BPM industry has leased 777,000 sq m or 48 percent of total demand from Q1 2020 to Q3 2022, amounting to 1.6 million sq m.

The IT-BPM sector accounted for 222,000 sq m of net demand in the past two years, driving the net demand of 314,000 sq m YTD 2022. Even with challenges brought on by the pandemic, the segment posted net demand of 513,000 sq m., representing a seven percent increase in their footprint, now at 7.5 million sq m.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].