The new office is all about building trust and strengthening long-lasting relationship, according to JLL Philippines country head Christophe Vicic.

The NEX Tower in Makati Business District.

JLL, one of the leading property advisors in the country, recently inaugurated its new Philippine office at the NEX Tower, Makati’s newest skyscraper on Ayala Avenue.

Aligned with its leadership commitment of “Building a Better Tomorrow”, JLL is actively pushing to have its new office certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the most widely used Green Building rating system in the world. It is also pursuing a certification by WELL Building Standard, a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and well-being.

The company aims to be the only office in the Philippines to have both LEED and WELL certifications.

“JLL Philippines’ new hub is all about freedom and flexibility. We built a work set-up that is attractive and unique: an open space concept that fosters collaboration and open discussion puts the new JLL office at the forefront of business transformation,” said JLL Philippines country head Christophe Vicic.

“We aim to make the new office an archetype environment for the Future of Work, our outlook that envisions a sustainable and transformed work environment that focuses on human experience amidst a tech-driven job set-up,” Vicic explained. “We believe that putting people at the center of workplace design and augmenting their experience using Digital Drive will result in Continuous Innovation, Improved Financial Performance and Operational Excellence.”

“We want everyone who’ll come here to feel right at home because we believe that comfort is tantamount to trust. The new office is all about building trust and strengthening long-lasting relationship,” he said.

Anthony Couse, chief executive officer (CEO) for JLL Asia-Pacific, and Chris Fossick, CEO for Southeast Asia were also present during the said inauguration.

Urbanization, e-commerce to boost real estate demand in APAC, PH

The inauguration of the new office was held in conjunction with a media briefing where Couse, Fossick, Vicic, and Janlo delos Reyes, JLL Philippines’ Head of Research and Consultancy, presented the company’s outlook for the Asia Pacific and Philippine property markets in the second semester of 2019.

The JLL PH’s report indicate that the rise of urbanization and e-commerce is driving demand for alternative types of real estate assets.

Urbanization and strong demographics will continue to buoy real estate demand in the Asia Pacific region. The region’s urban population is expected to exceed 400 million by 2027 while the population of 65 year olds and over will rise by 146 million within the next 10 years. In addition, Asia Pacific’s e-commerce market is projected to grow to USD 1.6 trillion by 2021.

JLL predicts that flexible workspaces could comprise 30 percent of some corporate commercial property portfolios worldwide.

Proptech, the convergence of real estate and technology, will also play a key role in the future as to how people will occupy buildings and cities will be developed. Smart city initiatives are pushing ahead and there is an increasing need to build better digital infrastructures to maximize efficiency, create sustainability, and improve living conditions in the Asia Pacific region.

In the Philippines, JLL identified several factors that have influenced the growth of the real estate industry.

The IT-Business Process Management sector is foreseen to have a positive growth trajectory within Metro Manila. Likewise, the resurgence of the local manufacturing sector—which has been outperforming other ASEAN countries—and the growth of e-commerce and logistics are also significantly becoming a driver of demand for industrial space amid the increasing requirement of locators for distribution centers.

Consequently, the logistics sector is taking advantage of the growth of e-commerce as it works towards expanding their facilities.

Additionally, despite China’s policy against their nationals engaging in gambling offshore and its possible negative impact on the demand of the POGO sector for office and residential spaces, JLL is positive that the real estate office take-up will remain healthy.

“Even if properties would be emptied assuming the ban on existing online gambling operations, other demand sources such as local and foreign corporate occupiers and investors, as well as flexible workspace operators, are still projected to grow and drive real estate demand,” said Vicic.

“JLL is optimistic about the future of the real estate industry in the Philippines and the whole Asia Pacific region. And in moving to our new headquarters, we want to lead the way in showing real estate stakeholders a kind of workplace that will complement the continued rise and brisk development of the property sector,” he concluded.