MANILA, Philippines — Filinvest REIT Corp. expects to see a boost in real estate leasing as business process outsourcing firms rebuild their on-site presence, a development that is seen to bode well for the company given its huge BPO portfolio.
FilREIT, the real estate investment trust of Filinvest Land Inc., has one of the largest percentages of BPO tenants among Philippine REITs at 90.8 percent.
The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) expects the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector to fully-transition to on-site office operations after March 31.
Filinvest REIT is positioned to benefit significantly from this development, according to its president and CEO Maricel Brion Lirio.
He said the shift would boost the economy with a push toward job creation, consumer spending, and business growth.
“FIRB’s resolution, in tandem with the country’s relentless push for vaccination, is critical to the IT-BPM sector’s continued recovery. Bringing operations back to highly equipped sustainable workspaces will not only increase productivity and provide stable connectivity, but will also assist workers to deal with WFH social challenges,” Lirio said.
The IT-BPM industry has generated P26.7 billion in revenue annually and has remained resilient despite the pandemic, posting a 1.8 percent growth in 2020.
Lirio said Filinvest REIT’s portfolio of Grade A-rated buildings, has stable occupancy rates and a lineup of blue-chip global BPO tenants that include the likes of giants Majorel and SLK Global.
“All these position us for steady growth. We believe that leveraging this synergy allows us to create value for all our tenants, stock investors and other stakeholders,” Lirio said.
Filinvest REIT’s portfolio consists of 17 rated Grade A office buildings: 16 located in Northgate Cyberzone, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) registered IT Park in Filinvest City, Alabang, and one in Filinvest Cyberzone Cebu in Lahug, Cebu City.
The company is host to global BPO tenants across its over 300,000 square meters of prime leasable spaces.