Cebu Exchange tower now Peza-certified
The Philippine Economic Authority (Peza) has accredited the Cebu Exchange, Arthaland’s flagship development at the gateway of Cebu’s outsourcing hub IT Park.
The Philippine Economic Authority (Peza) has accredited the Cebu Exchange, Arthaland’s flagship development at the gateway of Cebu’s outsourcing hub IT Park.
“Cebu Exchange’s registration as a Peza IT Center will be a most valuable addition to the Peza-accredited buildings in the country, most especially in Cebu, a highly preferred location for business and knowledge process outsourcing firms,” said Andy Gomez, executive director for occupier services at KMC Savills, in a statement.
Arthaland, owned by the Po family, recently announced its engagement with KMC Savills and CBRE Philippines as exclusive marketing partners for Cebu Exchange.
“Locating in a Peza-accredited building also ensures that doing business in the Philippines is smoother and easier. Not only do businesses save on taxes and fees, permits and other registration requirements can also be secured in a short span of time,” Gomez said.
According to Zeth Soria, associate director for CBRE advisory and transaction, the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry continues to exhibit healthy growth in the entire Cebu Island. As compared to the same period last year, there’s a significant increase in demand and transactions, Soria said.
“A lot of this is pent-up demand that was supposed to come in last year but stalled because of the Omicron variant. CBRE is enabling projects like Cebu Exchange to redefine next-gen IT parks, while helping our clients opt for spaces that cater to their evolving needs centered around health, wellness and productivity,” he said.
Peza offers both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives as well as ready-to-occupy business locations in world-class economic zones and IT parks or buildings.
Fiscal incentives include income tax holiday for a certain number of years, which translates to 100 percent exemption from corporate income tax; tax- and duty-free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries and spare parts; exemption from wharfage dues and export tax, impost or fees; VAT zero-rating of local purchases subject to compliance with BIR and Peza requirements; exemption from payment of any and all local government imposts, fees, licenses or taxes; and exemption from expanded withholding tax.
Non-fiscal incentives, on the other hand, include simplified import-export procedures, extended visa facilitation assistance to foreign nationals and spouses and dependents; special visa multiple entry privileges; and more.
Jaime C. González, vice chairman and president of Arthaland, said that being thoughtful and deliberate from design to execution, Cebu Exchange will raise the bar on how IT centers of the future should be.
“Occupants of this development will find great advantage in its health, wellness, and productivity features that are most relevant to our times.”
Cebu Exchange is on track to be the largest net zero carbon certified building in the country. Housed within this premium development is approximately 11 hectares of gross floor area that delivers a wealth of sustainability and wellness-oriented features fit for high-profile companies seeking to expand operations in the Southeast Asian region.
Best for companies scaling up, Cebu Exchange has the ideal spaces to meet the needs of modern locators. It has large floor plates of up to 5,150 square meters, maximized column spans for efficient floor layouts and flexible unit cut ups.
Multi-certified green building
Being a multi-certified green building, Cebu Exchange allows locator companies to save up to 40 percent on electrical and water consumption, translating to an estimated P2,200 ($39) savings per square meter per year. For a 500-square-meter office space in Cebu Exchange, this translates to an estimated P1.1 million ($19,500) in savings per year.
Cebu Exchange has been Pre-Certified Gold for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It has achieved the highest 5-Star rating for its design given by the Philippine Green Building Council’s Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence, and the WELL Health-Safety Rating 2022 for Facility Operations and Management through the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).
It is also registered and on track for the International Finance Corp.’s (a member of the World Bank Group) Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies certification.