Goking: BPO stays key strategy to property market recovery
Goking said strong demand for office space is expected from the BPO sector as the country’s economy has started to open up.
CITY Council’s Committee on Trade and Commerce chair Councilor George Goking on Thursday said the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is expected to usher recovery of the property market in Cagayan de Oro City following the Regional development body identified it as one of the city’s investment priorities.
Goking even said during consultation on the formulation of the Regional Development Plan (RDP) under trade and services BPO has identified as areas of investment that capitalists can look in the city as a location.
In a briefing, Goking said strong demand for office space is expected from the BPO sector as the country’s economy has started to open up.
He said that similar to what happened during the pandemic, outsourcing as a strategy to recover and rebuild will be significant moving forward, he said.
BPO companies are looking for office spaces not only in the city but in other nearby areas in the region.
“The adoption of a combing on-site and work-from-home work arrangements, as well as the availability of IT parks and buildings registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) could also affect the investment strategies of companies, particularly BPO firms.
Earlier, Trade Secretary and Board of Investment chair Ramon Lopez confirmed that BPOs can get the same incentives under the CREATE Law whether they register with PEZA and BOI, according to Goking.
“It will serve as a guide for the private sector on the potential investment priority areas in the city and the region,” Goking said.
He said the RDP for 2018-2028 also guides priority investments for the public sector in the region.
The CDO’s other priority investment areas are bottling beverages, and food processing charcoal, while under trade and services are ICT, banking and finance, education, bank services, logistics SMEs, and contracting services.
He said the maturity of the industry and government support are additional parameters needed in determining priority investment areas.
“The IPP is a very critical document of the RDC. It is something that is in demand among our stakeholders,” Goking said.