PHILIPPINE PROPERTY BOOM SEEN TO CONTINUE

The local real property sector is expected to maintain its growth trajectory in the coming years, driven by huge demand for traditional office and business process outsourcing space as well as retail establishments.

Rick Santos, chairman and chief executive of real estate advisory firm CB Richard Ellis Philippines, said in a briefing Wednesday that the growth that the Philippines was seeing could not be considered a bubble as there was a lot of real demand and the sector’s fundamentals were very strong.

This up-cycle, he said, could be seen across the Asia-Pacific and not just the Philippines. The country, however, had a huge edge in terms of low lease rates as well as the presence of a strong BPO sector.

“In Hong Kong, we’re seeing record values in real estate. We’re seeing the same thing in China and Singapore. But the Philippines is more cost-effective. There’s a huge demand for office space here. Also, because of the [United States] down-cycle, the Philippines is better positioned to get more BPO business,” Santos explained.

“The local office sector has the best fundamentals, driven by BPO growth. We see office space take-up reaching more than 300,000 square meters this year. This is a huge metric for the Philippines. The country has among the lowest rental rates, the highest yields and the biggest demand. We haven’t seen this kind of demand since the time of President Ramos, pre-financial crisis,” Santos added.

Santos said growth in office space take-up, particularly for BPO operations, was expected to extend beyond Metro Manila. Even within the metropolis, there was a lot of demand for space outside the traditional locations, or the Makati and Ortigas central business districts.

CBRE vice chairman for global corporate services Joey Radovan said that even with rising lease costs, vacancy rates in most locations have plunged to low single-digit levels.

“We’re seeing sustained office demand for both BPO and traditional office space. We’re back to 2007 levels, when we saw the height of the office space take-up,” Radovan said.

In areas such as the Makati and Ortigas CBDs, where monthly rentals rates average P808 and P554.36 per square meter, respectively, Radovan said vacancy rates were down to 4.64 percent and 2.96 percent as of the second quarter, with no new developments in sight.

Quezon City and the Fort Bonifacio area in Taguig City have a huge potential to fill the supply-demand gap, he said.

In Quezon City, while the vacancy rate has gone down to just 2.79 percent at the end of the first half, an additional 105,241 square meters in new space will be completed next year.

In Fort Bonifacio, on the other hand, 198,641 square meters of leasable office space is due for completion within the year, with a number of new developments expected to be finished next year and in 2013.

“On a macroeconomic point of view, this is not a bubble. We’re seeing the start of the up-cycle. There’s real demand. There’s also a lot of potential in the retail and gaming sector,” Santos said.

ROBINSONS LAND ALLOTS MORE SPACE FOR BPOS

GOKONGWEI-LED property giant Robinsons Land Corp. has made available more than 20,000 square meters (sq. m.) of new office space within its malls.

More office space that can be built in existing commercial centers will cater to increasing demand from continuous expansion of business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the country, the company said in a statement yesterday.

“Robinsons Land has three mall-based BPO properties ready for occupancy at Otis in Manila, Tarlac City and Davao City,” the property firm said. “The three malls have a total of more than 21,000 sq. m. available for office where tenants can enjoy the convenience of shopping and dining as well as the benefits of Philippine Economic Zone Authority zone incentives,” it added.

Robinsons Otis is offering three levels of office space with a total leasable area of 10,900 sq. m. The leasing space, which is within the University Belt that is composed of more than 40 colleges and universities, will allow firms to easily hire new employees. For its part, Robinsons Luisita in Tarlac City has 5,310 sq. m. of available space on two levels that are also ideal for the BPO sector.

“Strategically located and accessible via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and McArthur Highway, it is the only commercial center with BPO space in Tarlac City,” Robinsons Land said.

Furthermore, Robinsons Cybergate Davao has allotted 5,200 sq. m. of leasable office space. “Other than Metro Manila, Davao City is the only city in the country with a population of over a million,” the property developer said.
Davao also scored the highest among the top 10 “Next Wave Cities” for BPOs outside Metro Manila, data from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) show.

Moving forward, the property developer aims to expand its portfolio by setting up new BPO office leasing space in other existing malls.

Robinsons Land said “numerous Robinsons complexes nationwide are also ideal settings for build-to-suit BPO buildings.”

In Visayas, the Gokongwei-led firm can develop BPO offices in Robinsons Place Tacloban, Dumaguete, Bacolod and Iloilo, which are large shopping centers in the region. “Ample spaces within these complexes will address the desire of companies to have their own office building designed according to their preferences and needs,” Robinsons Land said.

BPO office space in shopping malls will add inventory to Robinsons Land, which is building the Cyberscape Alpha and Cyberscape Beta buildings in Ortigas Center that will have 80,000 sq. m. of office space and will cost P4 billion.

Cyberscape Alpha will be composed of 23 storeys while Cyberscape Beta will be at 36 storeys. Both towers that will cater to the BPO sector are located at the Ortigas central business district.

As of end-2010, the local BPO industry employs 525,000 skilled workers, data from the Contact Center Association of the Philippines and BPA/P show.

The new projects will bring the total number of office buildings of the company in Ortigas Center to four.

Robinsons Land, the property arm of listed JG Summit Holdings, Inc., is into shopping malls, hotels and office space leasing. Its January to March earnings reached P1.02 billion, up from P927.25 million in the previous year. The latest figures brought net income for the first half of its fiscal year that will end in September to P2.04 billion, up by 13% from P1.8 billion year on year.

RLC CONTINUES TO EXPAND OFFICE SPACES

MANILA, Philippines - Addressing the growing BPO industry requirements, Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) is developing two office towers totaling to about 80,000 square meters within the Ortigas Central Business District, adjacent to Robinsons Galleria. According to Arch. Henry L. Yap, General Manager of RLC’s Office Buildings Division, Cyberscape One (Cyberscape Alpha) will be located between Sapphire and Garnet Roads and Cyberscape Two (Cyberscape Beta), will be located between Topaz and Ruby Roads. The two towers will stand 23 storeys and 36 storeys tall respectively, both perfect hubs for BPO, call center, and traditional office users.

In addition to these latest plans, RLC announced that it has three mall-based BPO properties ready for occupancy in Otis, Manila, Tarlac City and Davao City. The three malls have a total of over 21,000 square meters available for office where tenants can enjoy the convenience of shopping and dining as well as the benefits of Philippine Economic Zone Authority zone incentives, while ensuring 100 percent back-up power and support facilities that operate 24/7.

Robinsons Otis’ three levels of office spaces have a total leasable area of about 10,800 square meters with approximately 9,240 square meters still available for lease. The site is within the University Belt, an area with over 40 colleges that will make it easy to recruit personnel, a major requirement of BPO and call centers.

Robinsons Luisita has about 5,300 square meters of available leasable space on two levels that are also ideal for the BPO sector. Strategically located and accessible via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and McArthur Highway, it is the only commercial center with BPO space in Tarlac City.

For further information about RLC office spaces, please contact the lease office of the office buildings division at 395-2177 or 397-1888 local 776 or email offices@robinsonsland.com. For mall-based office spaces, please contact the Lease Department of the commercial centers division at 397-1888 local 811.

ROBINSONS LAND CORPORATION (RLC) GROUNDBREAKS 9TH OFFICE BUILDING CALLED CYBERSCAPE BETA (MAY 19, 2011)

Photo shows (from left to right) : Ramon Isaac, Managing Director, AMCON & Company Inc.; Francisco delos Santos, Vice President – Operations, DDT Konstract Inc.; Antonio Jesus V. Liza, Senior Project Director, Robinsons Land Corporation; Father Maico Rescate; Henry L. Yap, General Manager, Robinsons Land Corporation – Office Buildings Division; Ana Mangalino-Ling, Associate Architect, Jose Siao Ling & Associates; Rodanil de Silva, Senior Project Engineer, Robinsons Land Corporation-Project Office; Noel Cagalawan, Senior Project Engineer, Robinsons Land Corporation - Project Office; Robert Grindulo, Area Project Manager, DDT Konstract Inc.

ROBINSONS LAND CORPORATION (RLC) REINFORCES ITS PREMIERE DEVELOPER STATUS IN ORTIGAS CBD WITH GROUNDBREAKING OF CYBERSCAPE ALPHA, ITS 8TH OFFICE BUILDING. (MAY 18, 2011)

Photo shows (from left to right) : Franz F. Ziebert, Managing Director, Design Coordinates, Inc.; Philip Añonuevo, Associate Director, Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu; Manny Mendoza, President, Monolith Construction & Development Corporation; Father Sergio Aranga; Henry L. Yap, General Manager, Robinsons Land Corporation – Office Buildings Division; Jose Siao Ling, Principal Architect; Ferdie Figuerroa, Principal, Ferdinand L. Figuerroa & Associates; Jave Pimentel, Construction Project Manager, Design Coordinates, Inc.

RLC EYES DOMINANCE OF ORTIGAS OFFICE MART

Gokongwei-Led Robinsons Land Corp. seeks to cement its position as the dominant landlord in the Ortigas central business district by building two new office towers targeting the business process outsourcing industry.

The two buildings, Cyberscape Alpha and Cyberscape Beta, shall expand RLC’s available office space for lease by 80,000 square meters with each tower accounting for 40,000 square meters.

“We’ve awarded the contracts for these two buildings and we’ll have the ground-breaking soon,” RLC president Frederick Go told reporters during the company’s annual stockholders meeting late Wednesday.

Go said the construction of the buildings would be completed in two years.

“This will bring the total number of our office buildings in Ortigas to four and it solidifies our position as the largest developer in Ortigas CBD,” he said.

Cyberscape Alpha, to be located between Sapphire and Garnet Roads, shall have a typical floor plate of 2,033 sq.m. on a 2,500 sq.m. lot. It shall stand 23-stories tall, with seven basements, and expected to be completed by middle of 2013.

Cyberscape Beta shall be 36 stories tall, with four basement levels, and will be located between Topaz and Ruby Roads. It shall have a 1,486-sq.m. typical floor plate over a 1,955-sq.m. lot.

Based on an information sheet provided by RLC, both buildings shall continue to have wide column spaces that are ideal for BPOs and call center offices. The buildings will also have parking spaces, back-up power generators, overhead and underground water tanks that will allow uninterrupted operations and services within the buildings.

“BPO and call center offices are expected to be attracted to Cyberscape Alpha and Beta due to its strategic locations within Ortigas CBD as the buildings are located within easy access from Edsa and Ortigas Avenue and less than five minutes away from Ortigas MRT station.