CEBU CITY – The demand for office leasing in Cebu’s business districts is projected to significantly recover next year and sees sustained employment in the outsourcing industry, according to Colliers International.
Joey
Bondoc, Colliers associate director for research, said Cebu will remain
attractive due to its quality workforce, improving infrastructure, and
relatively cheaper cost of living compared to Metro Manila.
“Office
leasing will be driven by companies based in the US and other major economies
that continue to expand and outsource activities from hubs such as the
Philippines. To sustain growth (in) post-pandemic (situation), companies in
major economies are expected to continue outsourcing. We saw this after the
global financial crisis. Firms are likely to continue outsourcing to sustain
growth beyond 2021,” Bondoc told the state-run Philippine News Agency.
Maricris
Joson, Colliers director for office services, echoed Bondoc’s forecast and said
that as government further reopens the economy, most outsourcing companies will
also start assigning their workers to the office set-up. “This will definitely
drive demand for office space,” she said, adding that while office work among
outsourcing employees is expected to make a comeback, the work-from-home and
on-site hybrid is are likely to stay in the industry.
Joson
said the government’s sustained and aggressive vaccination program is expected
to help drive the sector beyond 2021 as more people go back to the office.
Colliers
cited office leasing enablers as the economy moves toward the end of 2021. It
also noted the quickly improving infrastructure developments in Metro Cebu. Some
of these infrastructure projects include Cebu Monorail, Cebu Bus Rapid Transit,
Metro Cebu Expressway, and the highly anticipated Cebu-Cordova Bridge, which is
due for completion in 2022. (Carlo Lorenciana)
