ALI banks on OFWs, BPOs for recovery

Real estate giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) remains optimistic about business recovery as remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers and revenues from the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry continue to remain high this year.
During the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, ALI stated that they have not seen “any kind of meaningful contraction or departure” from any of its four major BPO tenants.
ALI President Bernard Vincent Dy said that, in contrast, expansion in the outsourcing sector continues while traditional space occupiers are moving to newer buildings like Ayala Triangle Tower Two and One Ayala.
“So moving forward for the year, we (expect) that vacancy rates will be meaningfully reduced, and therefore, our revenues for the office segment should increase in 2022 as compared to 2021,” Dy stated.
Meanwhile, ALI Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala said that they are now ready to open new malls and pursue the construction of new ones.
“Mortgage rates have remained affordable, supported by flexible payment terms. Local consumption continues to be strong, comprising close to 70 percent of the GDP,” he added.
Zobel stated that the rising foot traffic in malls, strong local consumption, high OFW remittances, and BPO revenues “provide us with optimism for the future.”