IT-BPM firms follow talent to Philippine provinces: SM offices
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) firms in the Philippines are shifting expansion strategies toward provincial markets following the pandemic-era return of urban workers to their home regions, with SM Offices reporting that its Clark Tech Hub in Angeles City, Pampanga has reached 100% occupancy across more than 100,000 square meters.
Clark Tech Hub hits capacity, Tower 11 breaks ground
The Clark Tech Hub currently comprises 10 towers with combined leasable space exceeding 100,000 square meters, serving information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) tenants across the Angeles City campus.
According to a report from BusinessWorld, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. has committed US$12 million (P700 million) to construct an 11th tower of approximately 20,000 square meters at Clark, a direct response to tenant demand that has exhausted existing inventory at the site.
SM City Santa Rosa IT Center in Laguna has also received designation as an ecozone by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, allowing registered IT-BPM operators there to access tax incentives that had previously been concentrated in Metro Manila campuses.
“I think it’s no secret that the IT-BPM industry followed, that, and so now, there’s a gentrification of wealth throughout the country,” said Antonio Felix L. Ortiga, head of SM Offices at SM Prime Holdings.
Provincial operators now qualify for the same incentives as Metro Manila
SM Offices’ 100% Clark Tech Hub occupancy rate confirms that provincial demand for IT-BPM office space has moved from opportunistic accommodation to sustained long-term commitment, with operators embedding in regional communities rather than treating provincial sites as overflow capacity.
Access to provincial talent pools, integrated mixed-use developments, and transport infrastructure are the primary factors drawing IT-BPM operators to second-tier markets, with Clark and the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon industrial corridor among the most active locations.
The Santa Rosa ecozone designation signals that fiscal incentives now follow tenant demand into the provinces, removing a structural cost disadvantage that had previously anchored BPO operators to Metro Manila sites.
Ortiga said the redistribution of IT-BPM activity into provincial communities reflects a shift that goes beyond real estate, with sector presence contributing to regional job creation, retail activity, and infrastructure investment outside the capital.
For buyers evaluating outsourcing in the Philippines, SM Offices’ Clark occupancy and US$12 million tower investment confirm that the province-led IT-BPM expansion is driven by real demand.
The information technology and business process management sector targets US$43.3 billion in revenue and 2.14 million workers by 2028, and operators establishing provincial delivery centers now will enter markets with tightening vacancy, maturing talent pipelines, and government-backed incentive frameworks aligned to their locations.
Related news
- Philippine BPOs expand to provinces amid real estate shift · Oct 2025
- Philippine IT-BPM targets $42Bn in revenue, 1.97Mn jobs for 2026 · 24 Jun
- Northern Samar positions itself as emerging BPO hub · Jul 2024
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