Megaworld’s office inventory to reach 1m sq. m.
October 9, 2017
Megaworld Corp. said Monday it is on track to be become the first Philippine property developer to hit 1 million square meters of office inventory by the end of 2017.
Megaworld senior vice president Jericho Go said in a press briefing the company was set to complete 111,500 sq. m. of office leasable space before the end of the year to add to an existing inventory of 885,500 sq. m.
“Megaworld remains bullish about expanding its office portfolio and is on track to be come the first developer in the country to reach 1 million sq. m. of office space inventory by the end of the year,” Go said.
“There is no reason to slow down our office developments. The demand for office spaces in our townships continues to grow and we will continue to build in order to meet our clients’ growing requirements,” he added.
Go said the Megaworld this year expects to generate P7.2 billion in rental income from office projects out of the total rental income of P12 billion in 2017.
Go said while there was a recent spike in office take-up from Philippine online gaming operators, the bulk of the demand for office space still came from the business process outsourcing sector.
He said online gaming firms occupied 80,000 sq. m. of Megaworld’s total office inventory.
“We are the first, if not among the first, to see the potential of this segment in office rental. Our expertise in office development allows us to efficiently cater to the needs of POGOs. While only 8 percent of our total inventory caters to POGOs, we continue to see a bright spot for growth in this segment,” Go said.
Go, however, clarified that POGO tenants within Megaworld office projects offered back room office support to online gaming companies, making their operations a sub-sector of the BPO.
Aside from leasing office space, POGOs are also boosting sales of residential condominiums as they prefer to house workers near their workplace.
“POGO operators are just signing up five year contract they spend for the office fit out. Plus they are also condominium units in a township development that are ready for occupancy. Because when they invite workers mostly from mainland China, they offer them not just salary but housing and food as food as well,” Go said.
Source: Manila Standard
