Why spreading the wealth is good for the Philippines
Why spreading the wealth is good for the Philippines
Duterte’s campaign of decentralisation could reinvigorate the Philippine property market
With the inauguration of a new president from the provinces, wealth could soon be spreading more evenly throughout the Philippines.
In a press briefing early in June, CBRE Philippines chair Rick Santos assured real estate players that decentralised economic growth will bode well for the country.
He said:
“This encourages local developers to step up in terms of putting up better quality buildings and structures. This in general will promote growth in terms of employment and other opportunities as well as providing better facilities for the local populace.”
Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated as president on Thursday following a landslide victory in the May polls. The former mayor of Davao City ran on a platform of decentralisation and repeatedly called for a constitutional shift to a federalist government.
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According to CBRE, national developers have penetrated secondary markets like Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Cagayan De Oro, Zamboanga, and Davao over recent years because of favourable yields.
Santos believes that decentralisation is already underway, with an increasing number of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies opening in the countryside in search of untapped labour. Citing data from global outsourcing consultancy Tholons, he reported that seven of the 100 top BPO destinations are now outside Metro Manila.
Although more than 70 percent of BPO jobs in the Philippines at present are concentrated in Metro Manila, about 62 percent have already been absorbed, CBRE reported.
Davao has been gaining traction as a BPO hotspot. Along with Iloilo City, Davao City was named a “centre of excellence” among the Next Wave Cities for information technology and business process management by the Department of Science and Technology, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, and Leechiu Property Consultants.
In the Philippines, BPO is a remarkably fast-growing industry, with 2015 revenues accounting for 7.5 percent of the gross domestic product.
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Source: Property Report