Makati CBD comes alive as one of Asia's exciting 24/7 cities

SUNDAY LIFE

PERSPECTIVES
By Wilson Lee Flores
The Philippine Star
Updated September 13, 2009 12:00 AM

Makati’s Central Business and Commercial Districts are alive even at night, when bright lights and vibrant social and cultural events spice up the place.

The life of our city is rich in poetic and marvelous subjects. We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmosphere of the marvelous; but we do not notice it. —

Charles Baudelaire

Unlike most other Central Business Districts (CBDs) of the world, or even Asia, in the past, evenings at the Makati CBD are no longer a totally quiet place of deserted skyscrapers. The financial district has come alive 24/7 or 24 hours daily, 7 days a week; with the lights and bustle of mostly upwardly mobile young professionals working and enjoying life at all levels of functionality, flexibility and sustainability. These young urbanites work in expanding businesses of banking and finance, services and the fast growing BPO sector. Many live nearby and even within the district at high-rise condominiums that have sprouted up in the last ten years.

A vibrant & colorful city

Cafes, fastfoods, casual restaurants, convenience stores, parks and other amenities have nowadays come alive. These are supported by nearby entertainment, cultural and other leisure establishments making Makati CBD similar to world-famous cities that never sleep. Makati is evolving into a colorful mecca of culture, art, publishing, jazz, entertainment, Internet and media.

One of the fascinating changes in the urban lifestyle of Metro Manila in recent years is the rise of Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) and related businesses like call centers, transcriptions, animation and others as a major catalyst of Philippine socioeconomic growth.

As trendsetter in business and urbanization, the country’s premier central business district (CBD) of Makati has proven to be an ideal site for BPOs due to its proximity to talent, good technological and communications infrastructures, capacity for space and centrality and primeness of location.

Colliers International forecast a mild Philippine realty slump for fiscal year 2009, including office rentals correction in prime urban centers such as Makati. The now easing global recession has also been a blessing in disguise according to a broker with Red Apple Properties & Management, Inc., saying that lower office and commercial space rental rates in the Makati CBD would make the area even more attractive now for BPOs due to Makati’s superior facilities and infrastructures.

World’s No. 2 BPO destination, US$6 billion revenues

One of the good news about the Philippine economy is that we’re solidly the world’s No. 2 business process offshoring destination with 21% global market share in 2007, next to India with 51% and far ahead of No. 3 Ireland with 7% global market share.

Ayala Land is working with the Makati Commercial Estate Association (MACEA) to continuously upgrade the business district in terms of urban design, utilities and amenities, especially with the phenomenon of BPOs which operate 24/7 the whole year round. Ayala Center, which houses the Glorietta and Greenbelt malls as well as current and upcoming BPOs, is being continuously upgraded and expanded. Ayala Land is creating office spaces targeted at the BPO industry and extending retail hours to cater to people working in BPOs. At the same time it is making open spaces more functional to provide de-stressing and relaxing areas such as garden locations.

BPOs located in the prime real estate area of the Makati CBD benefit from the fact that is readily accessible via shuttles connecting to the EDSA-plying Metro Rail Transit (MRT), the FX public transport vehicles, buses, jeepneys, and in the future the rapid bus transit or BRT.

Among the major BPO enterprises now enjoying the numerous benefits and advantages of working and enjoying life in the Makati CBD include Convergys, Sykes, ePerformax, Accenture, ACS, HSBC-HDPP, Aegis PeopleSupport, Sutherland, iQor, ICT and many others.

According to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, 2008 revenues of all Philippine BPO and other related information technology (IT) enterprises totaled US$ 6.061 billion These enterprises employ 371,965 people in generally high-paying jobs, and the growth rate of this vital industry compared to the previous year was 26%.

The breakdown of revenues and jobs created in this sector is as follows—contact centers or call centers contributed US$4.1 billion and 227,000 jobs, back-office or non-voice BPO generated US$827 million and 68,927 jobs, transcription or non-voice BPO had US$ 182 million and 20,224 jobs, animation had US$120 million and 8,000 jobs, etc.

Makati as education center, ideal for BPOs looking for talented youth

The Makati CBD rates excellent in terms of proximity to some of the Philippines’ finest schools which can support the robust growth of world-class BPOs, such as Don Bosco, the Assumption College in San Lorenzo Village, the Ateneo Professional Schools, Asian Institute of Management (AIM), STI Makati, Makati College, Asia Pacific College, Centro Escolar University Makati, De La Salle-Professional Schools, Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law, Mapua Institute of Technology, University of Makati, Informatics Computer Institute of Makati, AMA and others.

The BPO and other IT-related enterprises in the Philippines have grown by an annual growth rate of 30-40% from 2004 to 2007, slowing down to 26 % in 2008 and 15-23% this year 2009, but with projected continued double-digit expansion all the way to 2011 and beyond.

Exciting changes and developments in our 21st century urban lifestyle and work environment can be expected as MACEA, Ayala Land and Makati CBD stakeholders continue to innovate and upgrade the district to meet the numerous challenges of sustaining rapid growth in times of the ever-shifting global economic landscape.

Makati CBD is quickly turning into one of the most exciting 24/7 cities to work and live in 365 days a year. Ayala Land’s original and continuing initiatives (with MACEA) follow near-term strategies of infrastructure up-grading and managed growth based on a long term policy of progressive and sustainable development.

Ayala Land is moving forward on its other projects, like Bonifacio Global City and Nuvali, using the same framework of long-term commitment, guided by visionary foresight but grounded on half a century of practical experience and continuing success with Makati.

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This is the tenth article in a 12-part series in The Philippine STAR in collaboration with Ayala Land. “Perspectives” chronicles the success formula of urban development and progress, and gives readers a glimpse of the important elements in community development.