CEBU CITY – Consistent with its leadership on the green real estate segment, ArthaLand recently acquired a prime property along Salinas Drive in Cebu City as it eyes the region’s burgeoning information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector as its primary target market.
The property is strategically located at the Cebu IT Park area where multinational IT-BPM offices currently operate. ArthaLand presently looks at developing a world class green office building which will provide at least 51,000 square meters of high grade space to the local market on the first phase.
“We are bullish on the VisMin market given its fast paced growth in the past few years. We believe that Cebu, being a global hub in this part of the country, plays a major role in further lifting Central and Southern Philippines’ economy,”shares Angie de Villa – Lacson, ArthaLand’s president and CEO.
According to Lacson, “further growth potential is there because of well-educated Visayans and sound business environment.”
“ArthaLand will be a strong partner in the growth of Visayas and Mindanao by bringing in our experience in building world class, boutique, and sustainable projects in Cebu,” she stresses.
ArthaLand’s flagship residential project is Arya Residences, a two-tower boutique condominium in McKinley Parkway, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) which will be completed by the first quarter of 2016.
It is currently constructing its second project, ArthaLand Century Pacific Tower, located at the corner of 5th Avenue and 30th Street in BGC and is set to be delivered by the third quarter of 2017.
Both projects are on target to achieve dual green building certification from the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and the Philippine Green Building Council’s Buildings for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) program.
ArthaLand is a publicly listed company whose major shareholder is Century Pacific Group Holdings, Inc., (CGPHI). CPGHI is the parent company of Century Pacific Food, Inc., (CPFI) the largest and the leading player in the Philippine canned food industry. Under CPFI are major brands such as Century Tuna, 555, Argentina Corned Beef, Angel Milk, Birch Tree, and Swift, among many.
The company is also partly owned by international investment firm, AO Capital Group. The Cebu property was acquired through its subsidiary, Cebu Lavana Land Corporation.
“With our investment in Cebu, our objective is to makemeaningful contribution to the local economy. With our planned project, we will be able to provide more opportunities to Cebuanos and the rest of VisMin to participate in the global business,” Lacson underscores.
ArthaLand’s foray into the Cebu market is largely driven by the strong prospects in the city’s BPO sector.
“Cebu has progressed into an alternative BPO location and is currently ranked 8thas a global outsourcing destination according to Tholons, a global services and investment advisory firm. The entry of BPO companies has transformed and paved way to the growth of the office sector in Cebu,” shares Michael McCullough, managing director for KMC MAG, an international affiliate of Savills.
According to McCullough, Cebu City hosts some of the largest business process outsourcing companies such as Accenture, Convergys, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Teleperformance, and Teletech.
“Given that it is the educational hub for the Visayas and Mindanao regions, Cebu has a well-educated labor pool with high English-speaking proficiency, thus drawing BPO operators to locate here,” explains Julius Guevarra, director for Research and Advisory Services for Colliers International.
“Cebu has become the second largest BPO location in the country following Metro Manila, and some BPO locators have established operations here so that they have a redundant site to back-up their offices in the national capital region. Costs are also lower in Cebu, thereby attracting these operators.” Guevarra adds. – BusinessNewsAsia.com