SM Prime beefs up BPO space in MOA

SM Prime Holdings is poised to ride the wave of growth in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector with the expansion of EcomCenters in the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

According to SM Prime Commercial Properties senior vice president David Rafael, they will soon develop ThreeEcomCenter which will feature a semi-circular twin tower structure and FourEcomCenter with a prism-like design.

It is set to receive Gold LEED Certification, making ThreeE-com Center the first LEED Certified building in MOA Complex. The EcomCenter complex currently consists of OneEcom, TwoEcom and the FiveEcomCenter which was launched last May 2015.

“The Philippines remains one of the top BPO destinations in the world which has underpinned the growth in office demand. Our offices in the EcomCenters at the MOA Complex continue to offer world class facilities, further enhanced by their proximity to major business districts, retail establishments, transport lines and major ports,” said Rafael.

Data from real estate consultancy KMC Research & Consultancy indicated that office take-up in the MOA Complex area increased by 11.8 percent in 2014.

Prime rents rose by 8.5 percent to P602.60 per square meter per month while vacancy rates are likely to remain low at 2 percent.

In 2015, new supply will come from FiveEcomCenter which is already 80 percent pre-leased. With an investment of almost P3 billion, the new FiveEcom will have a gross floor area (GFA) of 141,706 sqm and an estimated gross leasable area (GLA) of 83,000 sqm.