Property consultancy companies see a sustained growth in office takeup from Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs) over the next two to three years.
Joey Bondoc, manager for research of Colliers Philippines, sees POGOs expanding their footprint from Metro Manila where vacancy conditions are tight to Cavite and Laguna.
This demand, Bondoc said, should spill over to the residential sector in these areas.
“Offshore gaming firms from China have been dominating office space absorption in Metro Manila. The relentless growth of these firms is one of the reasons why they have started to occupy space in the capital region. We remain optimistic that POGOs are to continue to lead office space take-up over the next two to three years, especially with continued efforts from lawmakers to legitimize their operations,” Bondoc said.
Lobien Realty Group (LRG) expects the real estate market to remain strong and continue its growth trajectory this year despite prevailing global issues.
LRG said the office market continues to be largely driven by POGOs and business process outsourcing (BPOs).
In a report, LRG said POGO companies occupy 36 percent while BPOs accounted for 30 percent of the total office takeup in Metro Manila last year.
LRG projects office space demand by these companies will continue to increase in 2020.
The Philippines’ information technology-business process management industry is projected to grow at 6 to 7 percent in headcount from 2019 to 2022 because of sustained and improved privately initiated upskilling programs combined with government support.
A statement released by online proporety portal Lamudi cited JLL as saying BPOs, POGOs, tourism and other drivers contribute to the uptake of real estate properties in the Philippines.
It said leasing activity remained to be mainly driven by the demand from offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) firms which accounted for 53 percent of the total leasing transactions in third quarter of.
O&O firms remained to bank on the large English-speaking population and highly skilled talent in IT-related jobs found in the Philippines.
POGOs made up 27 percent of the completed deals in the same quarter.
Lamudi said the industry stays intact with the government’s initiative to further strengthen the framework through cracking down on illegal operations.
The sustained demand in the office sector is seen to support stable growth of rents, JLL said.
Makati City and Taguig City command the highest asking monthly rental rate due to the presence of premium quality buildings, accessibility, and existing headquarters of major players from their respective industries mainly located in Makati central business district and Bonifacio Global City.
Business hubs in Bay City within Pasay City and Parañaque City are also seeing higher asking rental rates pushed by the robust demand from POGOs and other interest from mainland Chinese businesses.
