LUCIO C. TAN group’s Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. said that demand for its office developments has shown recovery in the second half of the year on the re-emergence of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
“With the perceived stability and confidence of a new administration and the market starting to normalize, Eton Properties gradually felt an increase in the demand for leasing spaces this second half of the year,” Eton Properties Executive Director Kyle Tan said.
“One of the primary effects we see is the confidence of POGOs to return to the Philippines. These operators are not just from China, but within our neighboring countries in Southeast Asia as well,” he added.
The company said that it sealed a deal with “one of the biggest POGO companies from Southeast Asia” to lease more than 6,000 square meters of office space, eWestPod, in its Eton WestEnd Square near the Makati central business district (CBD).
The eWestPod space was developed “to create a particular built-to-suit concept that allows the user or tenant to design and customize the space according to their unique preference.”
The office building has four floors of offices that have direct access to the amenities and are close to the modern conveniences of the Makati CBD.
“[T]he whole master-planned development features eWestMall, which houses two floors of retail spaces, assuring no shortage of different lifestyle options,” the company said.
Last month, the company signed a three-year contract with a triple A construction firm to lease a whole floor of its other office project, Blakes Tower.
“Eton also sees the positive ripple effect of POGO in our leasing business because some of them are also looking for residential and commercial spaces, which are a good indicator of our overall growth in occupancy rate,” Mr. Tan said.
Eton Properties specializes in office projects, commercial centers, and mixed-use township developments as well as high-end and mid-income high-rise and horizontal residential developments.
Eton Properties is the real estate brand of the Lucio Tan group, one of the business conglomerates in the Philippines. Its foreign counterpart, Eton Properties Ltd., is a real estate brand in Hong Kong and mainland China. — Justine Irish D. Tabile